A Harry Potter-Themed Board Game Is Donating All Profits to Trans Charity

Publisher Czech Games Edition said they were “devastated” that the product was causing “harm instead of joy.”

By Mathew Rodriguez

Forget “100 points to Gryffindor,” 100% of profits going to trans charities sounds even better.

Czech Games Edition, the publisher behind the new board game Codenames: Back to Hogwarts, has announced that the total sum of profits made by the game will go to trans charities following consumer backlash against the Harry Potter tie-in product.

The gaming publisher announced the decision in a social media post issued on Friday. “We are all devastated that the project we were so excited to share with you caused harm instead of joy,” the August 8 statement reads. “Over time, the harmful views of the story’s creator have escalated into harmful actions. We apologize unreservedly for not doing more to consider that possibility, and for subsequently announcing the game without taking preemptive actions to mitigate the pain it would cause.”

Codenames is an award-winning word-based board game that has sold over 15 million units since its launch in 2015, per The Guardian. Czech Games Edition announced its first Harry Potter board game tie-in, Codenames: Harry Potter, in 2019, months before Rowling started making public anti-trans proclamations.

The company went on to say in its August 8 statement that it was “not prepared for the volume of the response” to Back to Hogwarts and that, aside from donating profits, it will ensure that “an amount equal to or greater than the fee paid to license this product” will go toward organizations that support the trans community. The company will determine which organizations receive the money based on community feedback, per the apology statement, prioritizing “those that offer direct, practical help to people in need.”

Czech Games Edition first announced Back to Hogwarts on July 23, per board game news website Wargamer. After two days of consumers pointing out the issues with licensing the J.K. Rowling-owned property, the company issued a statement saying that “we fully respect and understand those who do not wish to engage with this game,” and requesting an “ongoing conversation” characterized by “care, empathy and respect — both online and in person.”

On July 30, after continuing backlash, the company issued a follow-up statement saying that “our aim was never to cause harm,” and that it was working toward a “concrete solution” at the time.

Rowling’s anti-trans politics are well-known by now, as are her own monetary contributions to the movement, including her legal fund, which is hoping to push trans people out of public life. As Rowling’s views have grown louder and more vitriolic, actors attached to projects in the still-growing Harry Potter universe have made several statements condemning her views. One San Francisco bookstore has even announced that it would stop selling books about the Boy Wizard on its shelves, encouraging people who want to read them to seek out used copies instead.