Harry Potter board game creators to donate all profits to trans charities
A snippet from the Harry Potter films. (Warner Bros/Harry Potter)
A snippet from the Harry Potter films. (Warner Bros/Harry Potter)
The creators of a Harry Potter board game have vowed to donate all the profits to trans charities.
Czech Games Edition (CGE) announced that all profits from the Harry Potter version of its popular board game, Codenames, would be donated to “appropriate charitable organisations”.
The company faced a backlash in 2019 for uniting with the Wizarding World after launching Codenames: Harry Potter, almost a year before author JK Rowling made any derogatory comment about the trans community.
Responding to the backlash on X/Twitter on Friday (8 August), a CGE spokesperson said they were “devastated” that the partnership had “caused harm instead of joy” because of Rowling’s “views”.
The spokesperson added: “In our excitement about creating a game within a universe many of us still treasure, we failed to see how that universe no longer brings joy to others… “We apologise unreservedly for not doing more to consider that possibility and for subsequently announcing the game without taking pre-emptive actions to mitigate the pain it would cause.”
— CGE (@czechgames) August 8, 2025
All the charities set to profit “offer direct, practical help” to trans people, including those that provide emergency support to LGBTQ+ youngsters.
The company’s decision was made after consulting with “members of the affected communities,” many of whom are said to work at CGE.
“We are committed to making decisions that come from the heart in everything we do,” the spokesperson said. “We came together as a whole company to find a way forward that was a genuine reflection of our values and desire to do the right thing.”
CGE has been praised on social media, with one person writing: “Bigots [are] calling y’all cowards, when doing nothing would’ve been easier and way more cowardly. Once you already made the mistake of working with Rowling, I think this is the best you could’ve done. Thank you.”
Another said: “Wonderful response to a poor decision. Rarely do you see a company own up to things in this regard. Trans rights are human rights, we can’t let companies erase that fact.”
Rowling’s “gender-critical” views have been condemned, including by some of the younger stars of the film series.
Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry between 2001 and 2011, said: “Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional healthcare associations who have far more experience on this subject matter than either Jo [Rowling] or I.”
