On the eve of Hogwarts Legacy hitting shelves, Twitch star and ambassador Veronica ‘Nikatine’ Ripley has called for the Amazon-owned platform to disable an ad campaign she claims is interrupting streams to “promote offensive content.”
Hogwarts Legacy has been rumored to be in development since someone leaked footage from a focus group in 2018. While many Harry Potter fans are eager to play the game, others are in staunch opposition to the Portkey Games title due to series author J.K. Rowling; the famed wizarding world creator has made a number of anti-trans statements over the past few years, causing her reputation with many former fans to be damaged.
To take a stance against the ads, and Rowling, Nikatine has chosen to stop streaming on the platform until the Hogwarts Legacy campaign is halted. She asks the site to “continue to take steps towards providing a safe place for the trans community.”
The Twitch star followed her call to action with a second tweet where she pointed out the negative comments she’d already received in the replies.
It’s true that Hogwarts Legacy has been popping up in ad campaigns across a variety of online platforms and in real life, with Warner Bros. likely ramping up ahead of release. The game will go live to the first players via a deluxe edition on Tuesday, Feb. 7, so it’s likely looking to get as many players in the game as it can.
Twitch could likely decide to stop running ads given Warner Bros. is being paid per ad run and not in a contract with a set time limit. With the game likely bringing the platform considerable profit, however, it’s relatively unlikely it will respond to Nikatine’s requests.
Dot Esports has reached out to Twitch for comment. As of publication, the Amazon-owned platform has not yet responded to that request.
Update Feb. 6, 8:50am CT: Nikatine responded with a statement pointing out how this is less about the controversy surrounding Harry Potter and more about Twitch running ads for creators that might otherwise oppose them. She is calling for the boycott to put an end to Twitch making creators perform while ads they disagree with are interrupting their streams.
“My ultimate hope is that Twitch will allow creators to have control over what types of products we’re comfortable supporting through ads. Ideally, starting with allowing people the option to turn off Harry Potter ads. But obviously, this doesn’t end with Twitch, or with Harry Potter—every creator deserves a say over what is associated with our brands,” Nikatine said to Dot Esports.
