For the first time in the history of gaming forums, ResetEra is boycotting a new game: Hogwarts Legacy (PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Xbox Series X, PC), the new game set in the Harry Potter universe. Individuals associated with the game are accused of behaving hypocritically, including author J.K. Rowling and the game’s design chief.
About this forum: ResetEra is arguably the most significant English-speaking platform for discussing gaming news, alongside Reddit. The forum gained prominence starting in 2017, as the previously dominant gaming forum “NeoGaf” went up in smoke due to the founder being embroiled in strange allegations. He allegedly climbed into a woman’s shower uninvited and similar accusations.
ResetEra is known for having several industry insiders and developers occasionally sharing insights into their work.
Everything about Hogwarts Legacy banned – Except for controversies
What kind of boycott is this? An administrator states in a current discussion about the game Hogwarts Legacy:
“This is a unique and serious situation in which the creator of the brand and a senior producer of the game represent hypocritical views without remorse.
We have discussed this extensively within the team and have decided to impose a total ban on all threads related to promotional material for the game [Hogwarts Legacy].
This means: There will be no threads about trailers or official announcements, no hype threads, and no fluff reports about the features.
Essentially, we are banning all threads related to the game until its release, unless there are major developments regarding controversies or similar issues.”
Hecht, an administrator from ResetEra
The admin then states: This is the first time such a thing is being done. And it is also an exception. But the situation here is that there is not only one “hypocritical developer” but also concerns about what J.K. Rowling is doing with her immense influence.
Why is this so? We reported on MeinMMO on Monday about Hogwarts Legacy. The lead designer of the game, Troy Leavitt, is accused of making positive remarks about GamerGate and negative comments about feminism and Anita Sarkeesian on a YouTube channel.
Journalist Liam Robertson pointed out the head designer in a tweet, associating him with the far-right.
J.K. Rowling is accused of being transphobic
- she defended a woman who was fired for tweeting “Men cannot turn into women”
- she criticized an article using the term “people who menstruate” instead of “women”
- she raised the question of whether it is sufficient to “feel like a woman” in order to access women’s restrooms and locker rooms. From her perspective, this opens safe spaces for women to anyone who wants to intrude.
- and in 2020, she wrote a novel under a pseudonym in which a killer murders in women’s clothing
Since then, many consider the Harry Potter author to be a TERF – a radical feminist and transphobia advocate.
Particularly on ResetEra, the views of Rowling and Leavitt are sharply criticized. ResetEra is regarded as a “left-leaning gaming forum,” and the views represented by the lead designer and J.K. Rowling are seen as regressive hate messages.
The boycott essentially states: We will not post anything about Hogwarts Legacy until its release, unless it is something negative. If something blows up in their faces, then we will be there.
Here are the reactions: They are extremely positive. Most users welcome the decision as “good and right.”
Even the cautious voices say: This is better this way. Because any further thread about Hogwarts Legacy on ResetEra would surely end in a disaster.
Discussion about games in the USA is politicized
What’s behind this: From a German perspective, it is difficult to understand what is happening in the English-speaking gaming world. In the USA, many things are politicized and divided, including the discussion around games.
For a long time, games were primarily made for “men”: children, teenagers, and young men were the target audience. However, in the 2000s, gaming opened up to more people. Writing about games also became more inclusive. It was no longer just about pixels, the number of bosses in a game, or game mechanics, but also about the societal relevance and the message of a game. Sites like Kotaku (since 2004) or Polygon (since 2012) were leading in this regard.
Starting around 2014, “GamerGate” represented a counter-movement accusing these new journalists of being corrupt and decadent, claiming they no longer cared about games and “were not real gamers.” They were told to stop using their politics, agendas, and views to ruin gaming. There was a perceived elite circle supporting each other, and they were accused of being too intertwined with the gaming industry.
This discussion took extremely ugly turns, leading to threats of murder and rape.
We in Germany have only caught glimpses of this entire movement, as our gaming press has not engaged in this politicization and division in the same way, and is still very much rooted in a hobby perspective on gaming. Former gaming journalist Christian Schmidt lamented this in a 2011 article for Spiegel (via SPIEGEL).
The German discussion about games has remained relatively consistent in the mainstream for decades. However, in the USA, the atmosphere is such that a large forum restricts the discussion about a game because they disagree with the opinions of the people behind it.
In Germany, we rarely encounter incidents where people argue with “#GamerGate,” but the RocketBeans member Etienne Gardé made a darkly humorous remark about Greta Thunberg that upset some people, leading him to be associated with the GamerGate crowd:
