Advertisement

Backlash against Rowling rattles game developers

Bloomberg News
July 8, 2020 at 3:18PM
Like the first "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" game, the new "Hallows Part 2" takes on the characteristics of a third-person shooter Ñ a reflection on the book and movie's action-heavy focus, but a stark departure nonetheless from previous "Potter" games. (MCT)
The “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” game was released in 2011. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

One of the most anticipated video games is one whose existence has yet to be acknowledged. 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 Hogwarts and its surrounding areas.

The long-rumored 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 in Salt Lake City, and is scheduled for release late next year for platforms including the upcoming Sony PlayStation 5 and Microsoft 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 rumors 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.

Within the team, though, some anxiety surrounds the work. The studio's management has not addressed recent comments from "Harry Potter" 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 pandemic water cooler, the workplace communication app Slack.

Spokesmen for Warner Bros. Interactive and Rowling declined to comment.

Rowling, 54, is a near-inextricable part of the wizardry franchise she conjured more than two decades ago. She continues to play a role in most projects associated with the Harry Potter brand, and the game is no exception. However, one of the people working on the game stressed that Rowling has very little direct involvement.


FILE - In this Nov. 13, 2018 file photo, author J.K. Rowling poses for photographers upon her arrival at the premiere of the film 'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald', in London. JK Rowling is publishing a new story called "The Ickabog," which will be free to read online to help entertain children and families stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic. The "Harry Potter" author said Tuesday May 26, 2020, that she wrote the fairy tale for her children as a bedtime story over a decade
Author J.K. Rowling. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Advertisement
about the writer

about the writer

Jason Schreier

More from Minnesota Star Tribune

See More
In this photo taken Monday, March 6, 2017, in San Francisco, released confidential files by The University of California of a sexual misconduct case, like this one against UC Santa Cruz Latin Studies professor Hector Perla is shown. Perla was accused of raping a student during a wine-tasting outing in June 2015. Some of the files are so heavily redacted that on many pages no words are visible. Perla is one of 113 UC employees found to have violated the system's sexual misconduct policies in rece

We respect the desire of some tipsters to remain anonymous, and have put in place ways to contact reporters and editors to ensure the communication will be private and secure.

card image
Advertisement
Advertisement

To leave a comment, .

Advertisement