The recently released Hogwarts Legacy, and every other Harry Potter game in existence, have been banned from Games Done Quick, as spotted by our colleagues over at TheGamer.
There hasn't been any announcement on any of the organization's official social media channels, nor is there any kind of post on its website explaining why the Harry Potter series, including Hogwarts Legacy, has joined the list of banned games. However, it's not hard to guess why.
J.K Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series of books, has come under fire in recent years for her outspoken and controversial views on trans people. As a result, the author and her works have been shunned by many in the LGBT community, as well as many outside of it. This includes everything from the books, movies, and video games, with the most recent release, Hogwarts Legacy, gaining particular traction on social media with many pledging to boycott the release in protest of J.K Rowling.
The list of banned games on the Games Done Quick site does note that games marked with an asterisk are "Subject to further review in the future," meaning that Hogwarts Legacy and previous Harry Potter-related releases could potentially be allowed at future Games Done Quick events, though what the review process is and what could influence a change in the organization's decision is not known.
J.K Rowling's comments on trans people have divided her fan base and created a friction within the fandom. On one side, there are those who strongly oppose her views and regard them as being potentially dangerous towards marginalized groups and will not support any media that puts a penny in her pocket. On the other, there are those who just want to play a video game without getting bogged down in politics. It's not a pleasant situation, and it's not likely to resolve itself any time soon given that J.K Rowling is very active on social media and continues to stoke the flames with her controversial views.
Hogwarts Legacy was released earlier this month to critical acclaim. The open-world wizarding RPG has also done well sales-wise, despite the calls for the game to be boycotted.