Upcoming Harry Potter video game ‘on track’ despite backlash over J.K. Rowling’s recent inflammatory tweets

The studio behind the game has not yet addressed the author’s recent tweets about transgender women, for which she has come under fire on social media

There are concerns that her remarks, as well as the potential sale of Warner Bros Interactive, could have an impact on the game’s future

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Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe in a still from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. A long-awaited Harry Potter game is still on track for release next year, insiders say. Photo: AP

Published: 8:30pm, 2 Jul 2020Updated: 8:30pm, 2 Jul 2020

One of the most anticipated video games is one whose existence has yet to be acknowledged by its publisher, Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment. It’s a big-budget Harry Potter game that will let players role-play as wizards and roam a vast, open-world re-creation of the Hogwarts school and its surrounding areas.

The long-rumoured project is very real, according to two people currently working on it. The game is in development at a Warner Bros-owned studio, Avalanche Software, and is scheduled for release late next year for platforms including the upcoming PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, said the people, who requested anonymity over fears they would be fired for speaking publicly about an unannounced game.

Harry Potter is among the highest-profile projects within Warner Bros Interactive, along with a Batman game that is in the works. Footage from a very early version of the untitled game began circulating in 2018. That video was authentic, but most of the rumours that have come out since are not, said one of the people working on it.

Despite a series of challenges – a global pandemic, a fierce backlash against the franchise’s creator, a possible sale of the Warner Bros video game publishing business – the game remains on track for next year, the person said.

J.K. Rowling recently made comments that are widely viewed as transphobic. Photo: AFP

Within the team, though, some anxiety surrounds the work. The studio’s management has not addressed recent comments from the author J.K. Rowling that were widely viewed as transphobic, the people said. The situation made some members of the team uncomfortable and sparked private discussions among staff over the workplace communication app Slack.