The lead designer of the new Harry Potter game “Hogwarts Legacy” (PC, PS4/PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X) operates a YouTube channel with an ideological orientation. He positions himself for GamerGate and against Anita Sarkeesian. This outrages users online.
Who is it about? Troy Leavitt is the lead designer at Avalanche Software, a studio of Warner Bros. He is currently working on Hogwarts Legacy: This is an action role-playing game with an open world, slated for release in 2022 for PC, PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Xbox Series X. Sony showcased Hogwarts Legacy in the September 2020 big event for PS5.
Leavitt has been in the video game business for 25 years.
What he is accused of: Troy Leavitt runs a YouTube channel under his name. This channel is accused of being “pro GamerGate and anti-feminist.”
The US site Kotaku calls the channel “reactionary.” Kotaku provides examples:
- Leavitt has expressed positive views towards GamerGate, a movement blamed for harassing women and minorities in gaming. A quote from him: “GamerGate, even when it was sometimes painful, has proven to be a good thing.”
- Leavitt has criticized Anita Sarkeesian: “She represents an ill-informed outsider position.”
Discussion around Harry Potter extremely charged
This makes the matter delicate: For some people, the “Harry Potter” brand has become difficult due to its author J.K. Rowling. Rowling is accused of having a problem with trans people.
She stated, for example, that if you open women’s restrooms and changing rooms to all men who feel like a woman, then you open the doors to all and any men who want to come in.
These and other statements regarding transsexuality led to a heated controversy around J.K. Rowling. The creators of Hogwarts Legacy have distanced themselves from J.K. Rowling.
Now that Troy Leavitt, another person with controversial views, is working on “Hogwarts Legacy,” it makes the discussion on forums like Resetera or on platforms like Twitter emotionally charged.
This brings up sentences like: “This is a left-right combination with Rowling and this guy. Just bury the project already.”
One even says the project is “cursed.”
Anita Sarkeesian critically engages with the role of women in video games: She is seen as a target of GamerGate.
What the affected person says: He is currently not commenting on the issue. However, there is a statement from 2018. There, Leavitt says:
Some of you have said that I would have difficulty finding a job in game development again due to my comments on industry controversies and my sympathy for the GamerGate movement.
I’m happy to inform you: Although I disclosed my YouTube channel to WB Games, it doesn’t seem to be a problem for them. It’s not as if they support what I’ve said, but they seem to care more about making good games than pushing a social justice agenda.
Troy Leavitt
There is no statement yet from Warner Bros.
Controversial developer leaves project
Update 5.3.: The developer Troy Leavitt has now announced via Twitter (via twitter) that he is leaving Avalanche Software and Hogwarts Legacy. He does not currently provide exact reasons for his departure but intends to explain them later on his YouTube channel.
About a week earlier, the gaming forum ResetEra had announced that it would be deleting threads about Hogwarts Legacy to make a statement against hypocrisy. This was explicitly aimed at Troy Leavitt and the views of “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling:
Gaming forum boycotts new Harry Potter game – Due to “hypocrisy”
