Fortnite Harry Potter collaboration prompts backlash from content creators, players, and leakers
Since the launch of the Fortnite Harry Potter collaboration during Fortnite Winterfest 2025, online discourse has focused on support for the IP and its owner, J.K. Rowling.
From content creators to leakers, why has there been backlash to the collaboration, and where does this discourse fit into broader societal narratives?
The Fortnite Harry Potter collaboration: What is actually included in the event?
Fortnite Winterfest 2025 sets the stage for the Fortnite Harry Potter collaboration, with Harry Potter-themed decorations in the Winterfest Cabin.
Included in the collaboration is a free Chocolate Frog back bling, which can be acquired by playing Hogwarts Legacy (currently free to play). The Fortnite Harry Potter collaboration also includes generic player skins wearing Hogwarts school attire.
Rumours initially stated that there would be a broom item in the main Battle Royale game modes. However, if this was planned for the game, it appears to have been scrapped.
Despite the prominent display of Harry Potter-themed decorations in the 2025 Winterfest Cabin, it has also been confirmed that there will not be free Harry Potter items in the daily gift unwrapping event.
It is unknown whether this indicates a reversal. Many initially assumed that the Harry Potter theme suggested the collaboration’s involvement in the gift unwrapping event.
If this was the case, Epic Games has now backtracked and removed any forced participation in the Fortnite Harry Potter event.
Fortnite Underground: “I was the leaker who spoiled Harry Potter coming to Fortnite. Here’s why…”
Details regarding the Fortnite Harry Potter collaboration were leaked online before the official announcement.
This is not uncommon for Fortnite cosmetic or event collaborations – the game has a significantly entrenched leaking culture. However, this time the leaker came online to provide an official explanation for leaking the news early.
In a post on X (Twitter), Fortnite Underground (@FNBRunderground) wrote, “Opinion – I was the leaker who spoiled Harry Potter coming to Fortnite. Here’s why.”
He went on to specifically cite JK Rowling’s targeting of female boxer Imane Khelif online and use of Harry Potter IP royalties as reasons for their discomfort surrounding the collaboration.
“Last year, Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling claimed that Imane Khelif, a female boxer, was actually born as a man. There’s just one issue: they weren’t. There’s been a sentiment around this collaboration that goes something like ‘you can separate the art from the artist,’ but that is a significantly harder ask when the artist is using their royalties to fund lawsuits and legislation that intentionally damage the quality of life of transgender people around the world.”
Content Creators back out of the Creator Program over Fortnite Harry Potter IP inclusion
Following the leak and official announcement of the Fortnite Harry Potter collaboration, some content creators have shown their support for the transgender community by withdrawing from the Fortnite Creator Program.
Twitch streamer and drag queen Annie Krevice was one of the first to announce their withdrawal.
In a post online, she explained, “I am no longer a member of the Fortnite creator program. I’ve had my code officially disabled as I do not want to endorse or associate with a game that uses IP from Harry Potter. Any Harry Potter IP proceeds directly fund harming trans people such as myself. Please don’t buy it.”
She also advised others to contact Epic Games directly if they also wanted their Creator Code disabled, stating, “I know a bunch of creators that have done the same.”
Since posting about her withdrawal from the creator program, she has allegedly received “truly unhinged replies, slurs, death threats, etc.” However, she reassured those in the transgender community that she would “never stop speaking out.”
Another creator, Ant Thunderfun, also removed themselves from the creator program due to the Fortnite Harry Potter collaboration, deactivating their creator code.
In a post online, they stated, “Harry Potter is not more important than your trans friends lives.”
Both creators have faced retaliation from supporters of J.K. Rowling.
In addition, many in the Fortnite community are unfazed by the collaboration. Others are declaring their intent to purchase more from the collaboration to counter the actions of those who are not comfortable with its inclusion in the game.
What is the history behind the backlash to the Harry Potter collaboration?
J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series and owner of the Harry Potter IP, has become a significantly controversial figure in recent years.
As such, the backlash from the Fortnite Harry Potter Collaboration centres around her personal involvement in the IP.
Notable public outbursts or intense public disputes have made Rowling no stranger to the headlines.
During the 2024 Paris Olympics, she became headline news after claiming that professional boxer Imane Khelif was biologically a man, not a woman. Her persistence in upholding this claim led to her being named in a cyber-harassment lawsuit.
It appears as though J.K. Rowling’s claims stemmed from an International Boxing Association gender eligibility test.
This test was refuted by the International Olympic Committee, which verified that “scientifically, this is not a man fighting a women,” and confirmed that Khelif was born female and has never identified as otherwise.
Rowling has also frequently professed her support and financial backing of movements that have removed any rights transgender women with gender recognition certificates previously held under the UK Equality Act 2010.
This has restricted transgender women from accessing services and spaces reserved for women.
While supporting this legal campaign, J.K. Rowling also publicly called for the photographing of individuals whom anyone might suspect of being transgender in public bathrooms, and the distribution of said footage online.
Although this is not a complete list of the events and viewpoints that have positioned Rowling as a controversial figure, it is a selection of examples that serve as focal points for those boycotting the Fortnite Harry Potter collaboration.
Therefore, Rowing’s Harry Potter IP being integrated into Fortnite has been felt as a betrayal for members of the player base who oppose her staunch views or are impacted by her activism.
How does this controversy fit into wider feminist movements?
Topics of feminism and transphobia frequently interact with the gaming and esports industries. Different feminist groups hold different perspectives on these issues.
More recently, the Fortnite Milk Cup sparked widespread disputes over transphobia in esports. In particular, individuals argued over whether gender minority tournaments should focus on women alone or provide a safe space for all marginalised genders that face industry discrimination.
Two of the most frequently clashing groups regarding inclusion and trans rights are TERFs and Intersectional Feminists.
J.K. Rowling self-identifies as a “TERF,” or “Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist.” In other words, she believes that transgender women should not receive any support from the broader feminist movement.
She frequently publicly argues for women being defined solely on biological grounds.
However, she has denied that she is transphobic.
The TERF movement counters other global feminist movements, such as “Intersectional Feminism,” which, in contrast, aims to recognise how various forms of inequality overlap in systemic oppression, resulting in different women having different experiences.
Intersectional Feminism, therefore, also considers the experiences of transgender women and how their treatment is representative of broader societal issues.
J.K. Rowling, however, has been perceived as someone who views transgender women as a threat to wider women’s rights.
This has caused significant tension, particularly online, where J.K. Rowling is extremely forthcoming with her views.
Despite the Fortnite Harry Potter skins not being representations of in-universe characters, they still retain the Harry Potter IP. This means that a significant portion of the revenue from the collaboration will go to J.K. Rowling.
It has been confirmed that she channels significant portions of her Harry Potter-generated revenue into funding an anti-trans organisation.
It should be noted that she also donates money to other women’s charities, including Beira’s Place, a sexual violence support service for women in Edinburgh, which she co-founded in 2022.
Is Fortnite moving away from prosocial activism?
Fortnite Underground also drew on Fortnite’s previous prosocial movements in their statement, such as the event “March Through Time,” which honoured the vital work of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.
Despite a history of Rainbow Royale events celebrating the LGBTQ+ community in Fortnite, this year, no such event took place.
Overall, there appears to have been a significant rollback in any commentary around social issues.
In the opinion of Fortnite Underground, “like many companies, Epic Games seems to be rolling back these efforts due to the political climate in the United States.”
They summarised:
“Most people won’t care. These Outfits will probably sell pretty well, most people will be happy to see one of their favourite childhood franchises come to the game, and Epic Games and J.K. Rowling will make plenty of money.
But I’m not okay with that, and I hope you’re not okay with it either.
So, why I spoiled Harry Potter coming to Fortnite? I wanted to ruin the surprise so that less people would buy it.”
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