Controversial Site Tracks Gamers Who’ve Played Hogwarts Legacy
The battle lines have been drawn across the Wizarding World, and whether you are a witch, wizard, or muggle, chances are you have an opinion on Hogwarts Legacy.
While there are rave reviews and an easy win as this being the best Harry Potter game yet, that hasn't stopped a dark mark hanging over the ambitious title thanks to the controversial views of J.K. Rowling.
Although Warner Bros has tried to distance itself from Rowling, the game is still tied to her transgender criticism in an uncomfortable way. The debate has spilt over into real life, with streamers being called out for playing Hogwarts Legacy.
Disclaimer: While the creator of the Harry Potter franchise was not directly involved in the creation of Hogwarts Legacy, their comments on social media around transgender people are hurtful and dangerous given the size of their platform.
We’d implore you to read our explainer of the controversy so far, and consider supporting trans rights charities where possible.
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Site Tracks Streamers Who've Played Hogwarts Legacy
Sam Gibbs created "havetheystreamedthatwizardgame," and although it doesn't name Hogwarts legacy, there aren't many wizard games that have just dropped in 2023. The site lets Twitch users see if anyone they're following has broadcast Hogwarts Legacy and how many times it's been streamed.
Whatever your views on whether you can play Hogwarts Legacy and still be a trans ally, the site sought to seek out streamers who've played it.
Opinions were mixed. One critic said, "This is a great tool to find streamers I want to support thanks," while another added, "Please touch grass, this is cringe levels of obsession." A third said, "This is just more free advertising for it, honestly."
Thanking Gibbs, a supporter said, "Thank you for this. I don't feel comfortable with people who support this game and I do NOT want to support people who don't value my trans friends and family."
Someone concluded, "While I totally understand wanting to protect your space... And I'm sure it wasn't your intent, but this website (and clearly the comments here) target Streamers. Just seems like a tool that will be used to harass others. How is that productive?"
Hogwarts Legacy Twitch Tracker Is No More
Click to enlargeLess than 24 hours after it went live, the site had been shut down. Gibbs has also locked comments on the announcement post. If you go to visit the site now, there's an error message saying, "This service has been suspended by its owner."
It's unclear why the service has stopped, but it's likely to do with the negative backlash Gibbs has received. As well as being called a witch hunt by some, there was also the fact Girlfriend Reviews' Shelby was left in tears after being harassed on-stream for playing Hogwarts Legacy.
Hogwarts Legacy is doing its bit to try and duck the trans controversy, with a representative from publisher Portkey Games saying it's a game for everyone. This seemingly goes against Rowling's stance, but for some, it's not enough.
Click to enlargeStreamers like HasanAbi have vowed to do a charity stream, while these dark rumblings haven't stopped Hogwarts Legacy from breaking a Twitch record with 1.3 million concurrent viewers on a single-player game. Still, it doesn't avoid the ham-fisted inclusion of the Wizarding World's first trans witch being called Sirona Ryan.
The discussion around Hogwarts Legacy isn't going away soon, but as we noted at the top of this page, we have an explainer of the topic that you can find here which includes resources including a catalog of comments made by the franchise's creator.