Speedrunning charity event host Games Done Quick (GDQ) has officially banned all games using the Harry Potter license, including its last iteration Hogwarts Legacy, according to its official list of disallowed games.
Together with the Five Nights at Freddy’s series, games that have seen controversy due to donations of former developer Scott Cawthon to Republican organizations, Harry Potter titles are listed as disallowed games that are “subject to further review in the future.”
The list of GDQ’s disallowed games includes titles that “have content, views, or an origin that we have deemed unsuitable for our stream,” according to the GDQ website. Those games cannot be submitted for the speedrunning charity events.
The submission process for SGDQ 2023 officially kicked off on Feb. 18 and developers will only have until Feb. 25 to vouch for their games. It’s not likely that the list of disallowed games changes before then, which means Harry Potter titles are expected to be banned from the next Games Done Quick event. This might change before the following iterations of the speedrunning charity events, however.
Related: Why are people boycotting Hogwarts Legacy? JK Rowling controversy explained
Hogwarts Legacy has been subject to controversy since its initial announcement due to the universe’s creator, J.K. Rowling, who is criticized for her anti-trans rights views she expressed on social media, as well as in an essay on sex and gender issues.
Although she wasn’t involved in the development of the game, the billionaire writer earns money based on the sales and revenue of the game, which pushed many content creators and fans to boycott the title.
It’s probable that GDQ has banned Hogwarts Legacy and other Harry Potter titles to make a stance on the controversy, although the company didn’t make any statements on why these titles are on the disallowed games list.
The organization has shown its support for trans rights several times before, though, such as moving away from Florida due to anti-trans legislation this year.
