Speedrunning charity GDQ has banned Hogwarts Legacy and all other Harry Potter games, meaning they won’t appear in any future Games Done Quick events. The organization, which regularly raises funds for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, Doctors Without Borders and other charities, has added the Hogwarts Legacy role-playing game to its “no play allowed” list, along with the entire Harry Potter series. Potter, but that said is “subject to future review”.
Games are added to the disallowed list if they include “content, views, or origin that we deem inappropriate for our broadcast,” says GDQ. While according to GDQ the list isn’t exhaustive, it does include games including the original God of War from 2005, the entire Five Nights at Freddy’s series, and any games rated adults-only or banned from Twitch. You can see the full list of banned games below.
As reported by Game Rant, the list has now been updated to include the “Harry Potter series, including Hogwarts Legacy”. “This list is not exhaustive and is subject to change at any time at the sole discretion of Games Done Quick’s committee and administration,” says GDQ.
The most recent GDQ event, Awesome Games Done Quick, held in January, featured quick races from games like Dark Souls 2, Half-Life Alyx, and Fallout 3. It raised $2,675,985. (£2,224,279) for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. GDQ’s next event, Frost Fatales, will begin on February 26 and will include sets of Resident Evil 2 and Silent Hill 3, with donations to the Malala Fund.
Harry Potter series creator JK Rowling has made a number of transphobic comments on social media in recent years. Warner Bros. has the license to create games based on Harry Potter. Although the details of this agreement are not known to the public and WB Games claims that “JK Rowling is not directly involved in the creation of the game”, it is likely that as creator and owner of the intellectual property of Harry Potter, she receives royalties on your sales. If you would like to learn more about transgender equality or show your support, here are two major charities we encourage you to visit: the National Center for Transgender Equality in the US and Mermaids in the UK.