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One Twitch streamer won't use the platform due to its Hogwarts Legacy ad campaign.
On Twitter, @NikatinePrime issued a statement explaining her opinion of Twitch's ongoing promotion of the Harry Potter game. As the founder of Transmission Gaming, a company that boosts transgender gamers and streamers, Nikatine has disagreed with Twitch's decision to run the ad campaign based on J.K. Rowling's past controversial comments regarding the transgender community. The streamer has refused to stream while the publicity remains active. "I call on every streamer to join me in taking a stance against bigotry, hatred and those who support such views," Nikatine wrote.
Hogwarts Legacy Criticized and Banned by Gamers
In addition to Twitch streamers, the gaming forum ResetEra has banned the discussion of Hogwarts Legacy. ResetEra claims Rowling uses her position "for legislation that will hurt trans people." The website previously prohibited the promotion of the Harry Potter game and decided to expand its ban to include the title itself. Despite ResetEra's stance on the matter, Warner Bros. Games confirmed that Rowling played no role in developing the open-world game. However, she will still receive royalties from Hogwarts Legacy's sales.
On the game's Steam pre-sale page, many users attacked Hogwarts Legacy with inflammatory tags like "villain protagonist," "World War II" and "capitalism." The top label became "transphobia," with others being "racism," "psychological horror" and "antisemitism." Despite the backlash, Hogwarts Legacy allows players to customize a transgender student and even features a transgender character, the Three Broomsticks' Sirona Ryan.
Hogwarts Legacy Sales Skyrocket
Even if users flooded Hogwarts Legacy's pre-sale page, the game still took the spot as Steam and PlayStation 5's best-selling title. On Steam, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive remains higher in revenue; the first-person shooter is a free-to-play title with microtransactions. As for best-selling PlayStation 5 games, Hogwarts Legacy conquered Sonic Frontiers and the Dead Space remake for the position. For Xbox Series X|S, Hogwarts Legacy comes second to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.
While people can purchase the Deluxe version of the Harry Potter game for 72 hours of early access, Avalanche also unveiled the Collector's Edition. With a hefty price of $300, the bundle includes a Deluxe version of Hogwarts Legacy, the "Dark Arts Pack" for Dark Wizard cosmetics and a unique battle arena, a ridable Thestral, 72 hours early access and a Kelpie Robe. Besides in-game perks, purchasers receive a steel case and a mysterious floating wand that can activate a map of Hogwarts.
Hogwarts Legacy launches on Feb. 10 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Versions for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will launch on April 4. Hogwarts Legacy also releases on July 25 for Nintendo Switch.
Source: Twitter