“So this is a uniquely awful situation where both the creator of the IP and a senior producer on the game have unrepentant bigoted views,” reads a statement made by a ResetEra administrator speaking for the staff. After deliberating on both Rowling’s history of transphobic comments and Leavitt’s YouTube channel, ResetEra admins decided to ban all promotional discussions of the game going forward. ResetEra, a popular video game forum known for constantly surfacing leaks and industry news, is now attracting attention following a moderation decision taken by the site’s moderation staff. But Leavitt’s involvement has tipped the scales even further for some. Rowling, who is called a TERF by some critics - as in, a trans-exclusionary radical feminist - is controversial enough on her own that some have decided to not buy the game. Many Harry Potter fans are trying to determine if it’s possible to continue enjoying media set in the wizarding world without also tacitly endorsing Rowling’s views. does not endorse things said on his channel, “at least they seem more concerned with making good games than with pushing some kind of a social justice agenda, so there is hope.”īefore any of this unfolded, some of the gaming community already found itself reflecting on whether or not one could ethically support a game that could potentially put money in the pockets of a person who continually uses her platform to mock and dehumanize trans people. In 2018, Leavitt said that, while Warner Bros.
did not immediately respond to a request for comment. is apparently aware of Leavitt’s channel and political views. But they were enough to make headlines, especially since one of the videos claims that publisher Warner Bros.
The videos are several years old by this point. Some videos were also sympathetic of the Gamergate movement, which harasses women and marginalized groups in the video game industry under the guise of journalism ethics. Videos by Leavitt included a defense of men who were accused of sexual harassment, a defense of cultural appropriation, and discussions on whether or not “thought crimes” are a real thing. The game’s latest controversy began when journalist Liam Roberston posted a Twitter thread highlighting that Hogwarts Legacy lead designer Troy Leavitt once kept a YouTube channel full of far-right content. And now, the political views of one of the game’s developers has caught the public eye, leading one major community to eschew promotional coverage of the title. wasn’t directly involved in the making of the game following a string of transphobic comments from the author. had to clarify that Harry Potter creator J.K. Hogwarts Legacy, the upcoming open-world Harry Potter video game set in the wizarding world of the 19th century, won’t be released until 2022 - but the game keeps getting mired in controversy.
0 kommentar(er)
