Hogwarts Legacy is a cultural dilemma for the 2020s. Fueled by the intense debate surrounding J.K. Rowling and her role in the franchise, the response to the launch has been unsurprisingly feisty. But while boycotts and other forms of protest continue, viewership numbers have proven massive on Twitch.
Debuting in early-access form, there’s clearly a big appetite to see what Hogwarts Legacy is all about; as of this writing, over 1.1 million people were watching Hogwarts Legacy Twitch streams, illustrating just how massive the release is. Potentially the biggest Twitch gaming release of 2023, the viewership figures put it well beyond perennial favorites Fortnite, Minecraft, Grand Theft Auto V, as well as the various “Just Chatting” channels.
One uncomfortable question is whether Rowling’s influence has somehow ended up only strengthening the series; as members of the LGBTQ+ and other minority communities call for measures against purchasing or playing the game due to its obvious links to its transphobic creator, the controversy has given right-wing types a strange idol to follow. So much of the discussion pre-release saw a pattern of trans people expressing dismay, met with retorts by conservatives or trolls whose viewpoint, more or less, is “now I’m going to preorder it five times over to make a point.”
Hogwarts Legacy is still struggling for positive press after fumbling the bag on the announcement of its first trans character, who was given a fairly dubious name which felt very Rowling-like. Throw on top of this continued discussion over the series utilizing antisemitic tropes, and the unfolding discussion feels like an absolute discourse bomb.
Reviews have been mostly positive for the first big Wizarding World game, despite some negative comparisons to Destiny for its very generic user interface.
Hogwarts Legacy is fully available to play from Feb. 10, following three days of early access.