Hogwarts Legacy: release date of Harry Potter RPG for PS5 and Xbox - and how will it promote transgender equality?

The highly anticipated Hogwarts character game, Hogwarts Legacy, is expected to be a hit with gamers and Harry Potter fans when it is released in 2022.

The virtual wizarding world will take players back to the 1800s, but Bloomberg has reported the gaming design will ensure players are not stuck with outdated views on gender identity.

So, what is the game and how will it support users to create characters who are diverse and inclusive? This is what you need to know.

What is ‘Hogwarts Legacy’?

Hogwarts Legacy is an action role-playing video game set in the late 1800s.

Gamers can invent their own Hogwarts student and will battle against an ancient threat attempting to destroy the wizarding world.

The official Hogwarts Legacy website describes the game as “a journey through familiar and new locations as you explore and discover fantastic beasts, customize your character and craft potions, master spell casting, upgrade talents, and become the wizard you want to be.”

Players will face challenges and must decide whether to protect the greater good or serve their own sinister temptations.

The Wizarding World is being developed by Avalanche Software for Warner Bros.’ Portkey Games label.

Hogwarts Legacy will be available for the most recent PlayStation and Xbox consoles.

How will the game support transgender inclusion?

The Harry Potter game will reportedly let players choose trans characters.

Players will be able to customise their character's gender placement, body type and voice, reports Bloomberg.

Players will also choose how they wish to be addressed by other characters, an unnamed source revealed to Bloomberg.

This may come as a surprise to Potter fans, as author of the books and creator of Hogwarts - JK Rowling - has received backlash for her views on transgender rights.

What did JK Rowling say about people who identify as transgender?

In 2020, the world-renowned author shared a link on Twitter to a shop selling anti-transgender items, such as badges that say “F**k your pronouns” and “Notorious Transphobe”.

On 6 June 2020, she quote retweeted an article with the title: “Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate.”

Rowling captioned the retweet:“‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”

The tweet sparked criticism, with some users taking issue with Rowling appearing to define women as “people who menstruate”.

These views caused a Twitter storm, with many saying she was failing to recognise that not all women menstruate, and not only people who identify as women menstruate.

Many labelled her transphobic and added that her statement was simply not accurate.

When is the game due to be released?

There has been no official release date for the interactive game, but Warner Bros. have confirmed it will be released in 2022.