The recent rumour about a yet-to-be-announced Harry Potter title from Warner Bros. Interactive is pretty much confirmed, according to a recent Bloomberg feature.

The game is in development at Avalanche Software, with its members feeling uncomfortable over the recent comments from Harry Potter series author J.K. Rowling. The crazy bit here is that while she is involved in most projects associated with the brand, she has very little direct involvement with the upcoming game.

What Happened?

In case you need a recap, Rowling tweeted criticism of an article that uses the phrase “people who menstruate” to differentiate those who were born women and those who transitioned. She did an essay about it on her website, much to the huge chagrin of many transgender folks. It blew up to a point where Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson publicly stated that they disagree with her stance.

Would this transphobic backlash from the author affect hype and potential buzz for the game? So far, Harry Potter fans on Reddit are keeping the thread on the upcoming game as civil as possible, though they disagree with the opinions from Rowling’s tweet.

MuggleNet managing editor Felicia Grady said that her comments “have had some effect on the level of excitement they have for the Harry Potter RPG or other upcoming content. We’ve seen comments from fans who no longer wish to support Rowling or the brand financially”.

As far as we know, the upcoming Harry Potter game will be open-world, takes place after Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, and is slated for PS5, Xbox One, and PC next year in 2021.