A newly launched collection of magic-themed video games and other content from queer creators promises “witchcraft and wizardry without the transphobia, antisemitism, and alt-right grifters.”
Curated by gaming outlet KRITIQAL, the Trans Witches Are Witches gaming bundle was created in response to Friday’s wide release of the “Harry Potter” video game Hogwarts Legacy. The highly anticipated game has been marred with controversy since it was first announced more than two years ago, due to “Harry Potter” creator J.K. Rowling’s outspoken views on the transgender community, which many have called transphobic.
While Rowling was not directly involved in the development of Hogwarts Legacy, according to the game’s official website, the game’s release ignited protests and boycotts.
The Trans Witches Are Witches package includes 69 magic-themed video games, tabletop games, short stories, zines, soundtracks and more, including What’s Wrong With the Girls’ Staircase, a game set in a school of witchcraft and wizardry, and “Casting Hearts,” a “visual novel about magic, anxiety, and connection.”
The bundle, which can be purchased for $60 (around the same cost as the standard edition of Hogwarts Legacy), raised more than $120,000 as of Tuesday afternoon. A lower-price Apprentice Edition bundle, which includes 66 items for $10, raised an additional $15,000.
Both bundles can be purchased on itch.io until Feb. 24, and proceeds will be split evenly among the dozens of LGBTQ creators involved, according to the organizers of the bundles.