WARNING: The following contains vague details about early Hogwarts Legacy missions, but no major spoilers.
Adding a new wrinkle to the ongoing debate over Hogwarts’ legacy going forward, IGN learned that transgender women will feature prominently in early missions.
The character Shirona Ryan runs the Three Broomsticks Tavern and is first encountered during the second main story quest.
The inclusion of Sirona in Hogwarts Legacy is particularly notable given the controversy surrounding the game.・I vowed not to buy Legacy.
Curiously, Sirona wasn’t included in Hogwarts Legacy’s pre-release marketing, and the development team at Portkey Games has remained mostly tight-lipped about Rowling and the controversy in general. IGN asked her Portkey to comment on Sirona’s participation in the game, and a developer representative responded via email.
Can you tell us about the birth of Sirona Ryan? How early in development was she born?
“Throughout the development of Hogwarts Legacy, creating an iconic and diverse game and working with an amazing fan community has been a top priority. Giving players choices in how they play the game is one example of that. And of course, the large and diverse cast of characters that exist throughout the game have also received a great deal of thought and outside input from Avalanche and Warner Bros. Games, who are experts in D&I.”
Sirona is coded as transgender in her appearance throughout the story.
“The best way to get to know a character is to go deep into the game.”
Can you talk about what Shirona Ryan means to the Hogwarts legacy, especially in light of J.K. Rowling’s vocal opposition to transgender people like her?
“The team felt it was very important to create a game that represented the rich and diverse world of Harry Potter and the group of people who play the game, including the LGBTQIA+ community. encounter.”
Why wasn’t she featured in promotional marketing?
“Like most games, we want players to be able to discover all the different elements of the story and gameplay as they play.”
Ultimately, what do you think will be the reaction to Shirona Ryan?
“The team is extremely excited about the launch of the entire game and can’t wait for fans and gamers to experience the legacy of Hogwarts.”
Earlier, when speaking to IGN as part of the preview, Hogwarts Legacy director Alan Tu also didn’t mention Rowling’s name, using rather similar language and saying the game was made for a diverse audience. .
“I think every game we’ve worked on has its challenges, and this game is no different. When we hit those challenges, we go back and do what we really care about. We know our fans have fallen in love with The Wizarding World and we believe they fell in love for the right reasons,” he said. “We know it’s a diverse audience. For us, it’s about making sure the audience that always dreamed of this game has the opportunity to feel welcome. They’re here.” to have a home in and be a good place to tell their story…”
Hogwarts Legacy releases on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on February 10th. Versions for PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch will follow. For more, check out the game’s official final preview, reviews, and how Harry Potter fans are coping with the complex situation.
