Hogwarts Legacy includes Harry Potter franchise’s first ever transgender character

JOE

They appear as a non-playable character

Hogwarts Legacy has made history by including the first transgender character in the Harry Potter franchise.

Hogwarts Legacy, developed by Avalanche Software and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, is an upcoming role-playing game set 100 years before the events of the Harry Potter books.

The game is one of the most eagerly anticipated of the year, and many fans of the books and films can’t wait to return to the Wizarding World.

Whilst many have praised the decision to include a transgender character in the game, some have said it is ‘performative’ and believe it has simply been done so the game can distance itself from the views of Harry Potter author, JK Rowling.

Hogwarts Legacy has been surrounded by its fair share of controversy ahead of its release because of Rowling’s views on transgender people.

In recent years, she has become one of the figureheads of the Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist (Terf) Movement, a community of women don’t believe that trans women are women.

The author has become a divisive figure because of her vocal beliefs, leading some to urge a boycott of the game ahead of its release.

In Hogwarts Legacy, Sirona Ryan appears as a member of staff at the Three Broomsticks pub and is a non-playable character (NPC). Fans are able to interact with the character as they explore Hogsmead Village.

Some have welcomed the move as a sign of inclusivity, with one gamer tweeting their excitement to play the game and meet the NPC.

They wrote: “Scrolling through Tiktok and saw that we have an actual Trans/ Nonbinary character as a bartender in #HogwartsLegacy! Couldn’t really tell if they were Trans or Nonbinary as the clip didn’t include any pronouns.

“For right now I’m just looking for to meeting them. This is Amazing!”

Scrolling through Tiktok and saw that we have an actual Trans/ Nonbinary character as a bartender in #HogwartsLegacy! Couldn't really tell if they were Trans or Nonbinary as the clip didn't include any pronouns. For right now I'm just looking for to meeting them. This is Amazing!

— Lola A. Meyer (@PRWickedFan) February 6, 2023

But others have been critical of how minor a role Sirona plays in the game, describing the character as a “token trans.”

In a tweet which has been viewed by almost 270,000 users, one person wrote: “An old acquaintance did some work on that Hogwarts game.

“Didn’t have much juicy to say, other than the game is mediocre and its RPG/customization elements are vastly oversold.

“I’m told they added a token trans NPC to pivot the conversation away from JKR [JK Rowling]. They’re barely in it.”

The game has already received criticism from some for not going far enough with its character customisation feature, which still limits gamers to only being able to pick ‘witches’ and ‘wizards’ as the two gender options for their character.

As a trans person, seeing all the advertisement and publicity for work that not only finances JKR, but allows her to feel justified (she uses HP's success to claim her views are agreed with), makes me feel quite sick.

For some people, that's actually the real fun of this game.

— Commander Stephanie Sterling (@JimSterling) February 6, 2023

Despite the controversy around Hogwarts Legacy and its association with JK Rowling, it seems set to have a hugely successful launch, with the first reviews for the game being largely positive.

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