Harry Potter video game to contain transgender character

The next Harry Potter video game will allow players to customize their character’s voice, body type and gender placement for the school dormitories, taking a stride toward inclusivity after several recent controversies stemming from comments by series creator J.K. Rowling that were seen as transphobic.

Hogwarts Legacy is scheduled for 2022 release from publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Inc. and developer Avalanche Software. When players start up the game, they will be able to create a character that has a masculine or feminine voice no matter what their body looks like, according to people familiar with the game’s development. The people requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to the press.

Players will then get to select one of two options -- “witch” or “wizard” -- that will determine the dorm they get placed in at the magical school of Hogwarts and how they are addressed by other characters in the game.

Although this level of customization has grown more common in video games and is no longer unusual, it’s noteworthy for Hogwarts Legacy. Last summer Rowling made several comments that were widely viewed as demeaning toward transgender people and denounced by many, including Harry Potter film stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson. The comments also rattled some people working on the game, Bloomberg reported. As a result, some members of the Hogwarts Legacy development team have fought to make the game as inclusive as possible, pushing for the character customization and even for a transgender character to be added. There was resistance from management at first, the people familiar with the project said, but currently the character customization is included in the game. A Warner Bros. spokesperson declined to comment.

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