Is ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ antisemitic?

At the end of this week, Hogwarts Legacy will be out in wide release. The game has caused a great deal of controversy in the run-up to its debut due to incendiary comments from Troy Leavitt and franchise creator J.K. Rowling’s views on gender and the LGBTQ+ community. There are also concerns about antisemitic tropes as a result of how the franchise’s goblins have looked and how they have lived in the wizarding world in the past, and now, many wonder how major this is in the game.

For those unaware of their history, the goblin is a prominent part of folklore in several parts of Europe. Stories vary from having the creatures be mischievous to more nasty thieves and among the Cornish people of the United Kingdom one legend says Jewish people’s spirits later evolved into goblins there after working in mines in Medieval times. Oliver Twist featured a villain who was referred to as “Fagin the Jew” in its earliest years of release — though Dickens revised this later and expressed guilt about the character becoming a stereotype before he died — and during the Second World War and its prelude, the Nazis (whose leader Rowling says partly inspired Voldemort) used the same stereotypes to brainwash Germany’s gentile citizens.

This led to misery and ruins for millions and, so, today, in a time of rising antisemitism, the question is whether this kind of trope (which the late Christopher Hitchens argued Rowling did not intentionally put into her work) is in the game? So far, with our staff who have played, the answer appears to be a firm “no,” at least for the time being. Perhaps with Rowling not being directly involved, this led to greater flexibility, and, as Shaan Joshi notes, these kinds of things have existed for a long time and there is understanding in the story. Essentially, you will see what you want to see if you ultimately are going out and looking for it.

“While I would say that the goblin’s appearance and depiction is problematic, as they are similar to centuries-old stereotypes about Jewish people (hooked noses, obsessed with gold), those depictions started 20+ years ago and aren’t exclusive to Hogwarts Legacy,” a comment from Joshi reads. “[As well], while some goblins in the game are part of a resistance/uprising that some might draw parallels to (conspiracy that Jewish people are taking over or run the world behind the scenes), there are several goblins in the game who reject the uprising or rebel against it, and there are a few conversations about being compassionate and understanding/with regards to trying to see how the other side has lived (goblins vs wizards).”

Hogwarts Legacy will be available for the PS5, XBOX Series X and S, One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch. It has currently received positive reviews and on Metacritic the highest-rated version of the role-playing game is the Series X one with an 89 out of 100.