Living in the shadow of Niantic's catch 'em all phenomenon, Wizards Unite focused on bringing Pokémon GO players across, instead of making a case as to why "Potterheads" should jump in. ![]() ![]() That seems to have been the problem from day one, with nothing changing now nearly two years on. Being able to explore the Wizarding World, brew potions and cast spells is exactly what every young muggle dreams of.īut 18 months on, the location-based title began rolling out, and immediately you could see the issues.Īs someone that reviewed Wizards Unite, I was enthralled by the idea initially, but it became very clear that this was more of a Pokémon GO clone than a true Harry Potter experience. In November 2017, it was announced that developer Niantic would take on the IP as its next big follow up to the smash hit that was (and still is) Pokémon GO. Of course, there had been plenty of successful games but nothing of note on mobile. In total, Niantic says it has nine games and apps in its development pipeline, some of which will soft-launch in 2022.Updated: This article considered the game's failure, which has now been confirmed as it's shutting down on January 31st, 2021.Ī decade ago, with the movie release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the IP was at the peak of its power.Įstimated to be worth $25 billion, the assumption was it would continue an upward trajectory, moving into other mediums and spinoffs films, such as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The company is also developing a project based on Hasbro’s Transformers property called Transformers: Heavy Metal, which will feature giant robot battles in AR. Niantic recently launched another augmented reality game, Pikmin Bloom, based on Nintendo’s Pikmin franchise. The developer said it will take “all of the learnings from Harry Potter: Wizards Unite into our other projects.” We accomplished that together, delivering a two-year narrative story arc that will soon complete.” Our goal with Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was to bring the magic of the wizarding world to life for millions of players as they stepped outside and explored their neighborhoods. In a blog post, the Niantic team said, “Not all games are meant to last forever. That Calamity risks violation of the International Statute of Secrecy, an ancient law that kept magic a secret from non-wizards and witches after witches and wizards were persecuted in the 1600s.īut Wizards Unite seemingly didn’t find the same wide audience of Pokémon Go, or Niantic’s previous AR game, Ingress, to sustain itself. After the Battle for Hogwarts, heroes Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger join the Ministry of Magic, and during a period of calm in the wizarding community, magic starts appearing in the muggle world. In the game’s story, Wizards Unite begins somewhere after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. ![]() Harry Potter: Wizards Unite launched in June 2019, and hoped to capture the magic of Niantic’s 2016 smash hit Pokémon Go using the Harry Potter license. It will also end in-game purchases on that date. Niantic said it will remove Harry Potter: Wizards Unite from the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Galaxy Store on Dec. Niantic announced the game’s closure on the Harry Potter : Wizards Unite website, and promised players that they’ll get a narrative conclusion - Harry Potter and Hermione Granger will put an end to the in-game Calamity before Wizards Unite shuts down. Rowling’s Wizarding World, is shutting down on Jan. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, developer Niantic’s augmented reality mobile game set in J.K.
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