As the Hogwarts Legacy discourse rages on (take that as you will), the call to boycott the game has served as a particularly loud anchor in the controversy, and rightfully so as the game continues to not only represent the triviality with which its world regards trans issues but proves to contain more and more antisemitic connotations as time goes on.
Nevertheless, the game’s popularity continues to rise, as does its place in the all-time peak of Steam’s most-played titles, coming in at 13th place at the time of writing, nestled between such gaming giants as Terraria and Capcom Arcade Stadium. It may have a ways to go before catching up to the truly elite titles such as PUBG: Battlegrounds and Goose Goose Duck, but having officially launched to wider audiences just today, the Wizarding World’s most prominent ever foray into gaming will have plenty of time to wrack up more numbers, even if a portion of those copies were purchased for the sake of trolling.
Despite the boycott’s apparent failure, the calls for it remain as strong as ever, which perhaps highlights the true purpose behind such an action. Regardless of what anyone believes, the boycott is not about axing the bottom line of J.K. Rowling’s paycheck.
It’s about sending a message.
There may be no positives to giving money to one of the world’s most influential voices on anti-trans rhetoric, but in light of the fact that Rowling’s financial independence will remain just as untouchable no matter how many people buy the game, consider not the guilt you may feel in contributing to her bank account, but the privilege with which you remain unaffected by all of the issues that Hogwarts Legacy represents not just as a game, but as a cultural attitude.