Hogwarts Legacy Breaks Twitch Records and Raises Social Justice Questions

The recently released Harry Potter game, Hogwarts Legacy, has already broken one world record on Twitch, surpassing popular RPG games such as Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, World of Warcraft, and Call of Duty. This unprecedented peak of 1,269,317 viewers shows the incredible excitement surrounding the game. However, with its popularity comes questions around the repeated transphobic remarks of JK Rowling, the creator of the original Harry Potter books, and the implications for Hogwarts Legacy.

The single-player Hogwarts Legacy has reached amazing heights in terms of Twitch viewership records. At its peak, 32,108 Twitch channels simultaneously streamed the play to an audience of more than 1.2 million viewers. This is a higher number of concurrent streamers than for any other play, including Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Elden Ring, World of Warcraft, and Apex Legends. Consequently, Hogwarts Legacy has become a highly popular game on Twitch.

Yet, the new Harry Potter game comes in the wake of JK Rowling’s transphobic comments and stirred up heated discussion among players and fans. Despite the stance of WB Games that “JK Rowling is not directly involved in the creation of the game”, there remains a debate about whether Rowling will receive royalties from its sales or not. In response, many are advocating that people support charities that promote transgender equality and human rights, such as the National Center for Transgender Equality in the US and Mermaids in the UK.

In addition, the developer of Hogwarts Legacy, Avalanche, has recently changed its stance on preloading the play on Steam. Until recently, preloading was not possible, but now it is a viable option for those who would like to get into Hogwarts Legacy. Players also have a chance to dive into the game by taking part in the Twitch drops program and importing their house and want into the game.

In conclusion, despite some controversy surrounding the game, Hogwarts Legacy has broken a new Twitch record with over 1.2 million viewers, surpassing Cyberpunk 2077 and many other big games. Although the play is based on JK Rowling's work, her transphobic remarks on social media have led to a debate about royalties from the sales of the game. Meanwhile, the developer has made preloading Hogwarts Legacy on Steam available, allowing players to explore the virtual world of Hogwarts and participate in the Twitch drops program.