After widespread criticism of its upcoming Harry Potter board game, Codenames publisher Czech Games Edition shared a second response on July 30. "At CGE, our aim was never to cause harm", CGE writes, "and we acknowledge that, with our recent Codenames announcement, we have." "We are working hard within our constraints to find the best way forward and will update you as soon as we can."
CGE revealed Codenames: Back to Hogwarts, a Harry Potter spin-off for the popular party game, on July 23. By July 25, the publisher had released its first statement responding to the backlash. Many fans criticized CGE's decision to license the Harry Potter IP, which is the creation of 'gender critical' campaigner J.K. Rowling.
The blog post, titled 'Why We Created a New Licensed Version of Codenames', acknowledged the situation indirectly, focusing on the joy and inspiration that the IP-that-shall-not-be-named brought to CGE. "Deciding whether those feelings should also transfer to the once-beloved world is up to everyone, and we fully respect and understand those who do not wish to engage with this game", it said. The post concluded by asking the community for "care, empathy, and respect" when discussing the game.
The situation appeared to escalate after the publication of this post, however. Fans on Bluesky began accusing CGE of blocking users who were critical of Codenames or the publisher. Wargamer has previously asked CGE to confirm whether these accusations are founded, but the publisher has not responded to us yet.
In Wednesday's statement, Czech Games Edition has taken a more apologetic tone. "We understand that what we have done has caused distress, and are working towards a concrete solution with several members of the affected communities", it says. "Please bear with us as we figure this out."
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