UNITED STATES • One of the most anticipated video games is one whose existence has yet to be acknowledged by its publisher, Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment.
It is a big-budget Harry Potter game that will let players role-play as wizards and roam a vast, open-world recreation of Hogwarts and its surrounding areas.
The long-rumoured project is real, according to two people currently working on it who requested anonymity.
They said the game is in development at a Warner Bros-owned studio, Avalanche Software in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has been scheduled for release late next year for platforms such as Sony's upcoming PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X.
Harry Potter is among the highest-profile projects within Warner Bros Interactive, along with a Batman game in the works.
Footage from a very early version of the untitled game began circulating in 2018.
The video was authentic, but most of the rumours that have come out since are not, said one of the people working on it.
Despite a series of challenges - a global pandemic, a fierce backlash against the franchise's creator and a possible sale of Warner Bros' video game publishing business - the game remains on track for next year, the person said.
Within the team, though, some anxiety surrounds the work.
The studio's management has not addressed recent comments from author J.K. Rowling that were widely viewed as "transphobic", the people said. The situation had made some members of the team uncomfortable and sparked private discussions among staff over workplace communication app Slack.
Spokesmen for Warner Bros Interactive and Rowling declined to comment.
Rowling, 54, is a near-inextricable part of the wizardry franchise she conjured more than two decades ago. She continues to play a role in most projects associated with the Harry Potter brand - and the game is no exception.
However, one of the people working on the game stressed that Rowling has very little direct involvement.
The writer has courted controversy on Twitter in the past, but last month, she made her most inflammatory comments yet.
On June 6, she tweeted criticism of an article that used the phrase "people who menstruate" to differentiate between those who were born as women and those who transitioned.
Later, she expanded on her thoughts in an essay on her website, writing that "the 'inclusive' language that calls female people 'menstruators' and 'people with vulvas' strikes many women as dehumanising and demeaning".
Many transgender people felt demeaned by her comments, which were also denounced by fans and collaborators.
Cast members from the Harry Potter series, including Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, said they disagreed with Rowling's stance, and Warner Bros responded by touting its "inclusive culture".
Many fans are attempting to reconcile their love of the fantasy series with its author's beliefs, which they find repugnant.
On online forum Reddit, there is a 6,000-member community dedicated to the yet-to-be-announced Harry Potter game.
The usual exchange of rumours and wish lists that takes place there was derailed last month by debate over Rowling's statements.
The forum's editors posted a declaration that they "firmly stand in disagreement with the opinions stated in those tweets" and that fans should avoid discussing them.
The Rowling controversy is likely to diminish some anticipation for the game, said Ms Felicia Grady, managing editor of the popular Harry Potter fan site MuggleNet.
"Based on what I've seen from fans, I do believe Rowling's comments have had some effect on the level of excitement they have for the Harry Potter RPG or other upcoming content," she wrote in an e-mail. "We've seen comments from fans who no longer wish to support Rowling or the brand financially."
The potential sale of Warner Bros Interactive would have an even greater impact on the game's future, said Mr Matthew Kanterman, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
Pricey projects are the most at risk of cancellation in the event of a sale, he said, "especially something like this that has been in the works for years".
CNBC, which reported two weeks ago on talks to sell the AT&T-owned gaming unit, said a deal was not imminent.
Warner Bros had originally planned to announce the Harry Potter game during a news conference at gaming trade show E3 last month, according to people familiar with the plans.
When E3 was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the publisher's marketing road map shifted. The new plan is to unveil the Batman game next month at a digital event called DC FanDome, while the Harry Potter game will be revealed later, a person with knowledge of the plans said.
The person said those plans had been made before Rowling's comments.
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