New Harry Potter Game Hogwarts Legacy Will Let You Create Transgender Characters

The developer of upcoming Harry Potter video game Hogwarts Legacy is joining an industry-wide effort to promote inclusiveness in its titles.

The action-RPG, first revealed last year during Sony’s PlayStation 5 event, takes place hundreds of years prior to the saga written by J.K. Rowling and sees players inducted into Hogwarts as a fresh-faced pupil. Before walking through the mighty gates and into the secretive school proper, however, you’ll be tasked with creating your own personal avatar which, according to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, will offer options not specific to gender.

Furthermore, sources close to Hogwarts Legacy note that feminine and masculine voices will be chosen independently of body type and that, instead of traditional ‘male’ or ‘female’ categories, players will be asked if they’d prefer to be referred to in-game as either a witch or wizard, regardless of prior choices. In what capacity the individuals who shared these details are involved with the project is unclear, as Schreier notes that all requested anonymity due to not being authorized to give press interviews.

Regarding whether these options will have any further impact on the wider game and its narrative remains to be seen, though Avalanche is believed to have directly campaigned for trans representation in Hogwarts Legacy due, in part, to recent controversies surrounding Rowling. For those not aware, the author attracted fierce criticism from members of the trans community last year following a series of comments deemed insensitive at best and offensive at worst. Actors Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson – who played Harry Potter and Hermione Granger in the films, respectively – both distanced themselves from Rowling following the social media outburst.

As for whether these features ultimately end up shipping with the release version of Hogwarts Legacy, no answer exists. Schreier’s sources say current builds include the aforementioned character creation options, though, so we imagine they’ll be there when the game launches.