The Hogwarts Legacy character creator has a few options that seem to point toward an effort at inclusion for transgender fans.
The character creator lets you build your character freely without even seeing a gender option. Running through a series of tabs, you'll choose a preset character, then your face shape, hairstyle and color, complexion and facial features, and eye color and eyebrow shape.
On the final tab, you choose between 'voice one' and 'voice two' - each of those sounds pretty traditionally masculine or feminine, though you can also adjust the voice's pitch. You'll also choose your character's dormitory: 'witch' or 'wizard'. Both the voice and housing choices are independent of each other and your character's visual appearance.
These sorts of options are increasingly common in video games, but Hogwarts Legacy has faced special scrutiny in this regard given series creator J.K. Rowling's publicly-stated, harmful views regarding the rights of transgender people. The character creation options revealed today were detailed in an insider report over a year ago, so it seems the devs have been considering the issue for some time.
These Hogwarts Legacy options are a step in the right direction, but that step seems tentative as other games are offering non-binary creation options and opening the door for more openly trans characters.
The Hogwarts Legacy character creator was demonstrated during today's lengthy gameplay showcase, which also offered a tour of the titular school and an explainer on how combat and spells will work.
Although she is not involved in the development of Hogwarts Legacy, 12DOVE acknowledges the role of J.K. Rowling in the creation of the Wizarding World, as well as her publicly-stated, harmful views regarding the rights of transgender people. If you’d like to offer your support to the communities affected by Rowling’s rhetoric, consider donating to the National Center for Transgender Equality in the US, or Mermaids in the UK.
