Overview
''Harry Potter: Wizards Unite'' was announced on November 8, 2017, as an augmented reality mobile game developed by Niantic (company), Niantic and WB Games San Francisco. Players are able to visit real-world locations while casting spells, discovering mysterious artefacts, and encountering iconic characters and legendary beasts from the ''Harry Potter'' universe. With Niantic's purchase of Escher Reality, the game was expected to implement new technology to allow for persistent worlds within AR. On November 14, 2018, it was confirmed that the game would be released in 2019.Gameplay
''Harry Potter: Wizards Unite'' gameplay has been described as similar to that of ''Pokémon Go'', with players able to view the gameplay world through a smartphone. The game allows players to fight against mythical beasts from the ''Harry Potter'' and ''Fantastic Beasts (film series), Fantastic Beasts'' franchise. Players may choose their wizarding house, their wand, and their character class, profession: either Professor, Auror or Magizoologist. After creating a game account, the player makes an avatar (computing), avatar, whose location depends on the device's geographical location. The player then travels around the real world to find "confounded" item (game terminology), items and creatures, and "unconfound" them. The player can also stop at inns (to replenish spell energy), greenhouses (to gain potion ingredients and grow new ingredients), and fortresses (to fight dark wizards and beasts). As the player moves within their real-world surroundings, their avatar moves within the game's map. In April 2020, ''Wizards Unite'' introduced the Knight Bus which allows players to participate in magical challenges in virtual fortresses regardless of their physical location, an answer to the worldwide COVID-19 lockdowns, lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.Release
A first gameplay video for the game was released in March 2019, showing footage defending from a dementor, and being attacked by a werewolf. On March 11, 2019, pre-registration on Google Play opened for the app as well as new in-game footage was released by Niantic. On April 17, 2019, the game was beta released in New Zealand. On April 24, 2019, an email was sent in error stating that the game would launch in Australia for beta testing. On April 26, 2019, the game launched in Australia for beta testing. But several hours later, Niantic confirmed it was another mistake and it was taken down from the App Store (iOS/iPadOS), App Store. The game was re-released in Australia on May 2, 2019. The game was released in the United States and the United Kingdom on June 20, 2019, a day earlier than previously announced, with additional countries expected to gain access in the days ahead.Reception
Awards
The game won the People's Voice Award for "Technical Achievement" and was named as an Honoree for "Best Game Design" at the 2020 Webby Awards, whereas its other nomination was for "Family & Kids".Revenue
The game generated over US$12 million in revenue in its first month of release. The game's total revenue was estimated at US$37 million by May 2021, with 20 million downloads.References
External links
* {{Niantic 2019 video games Android (operating system) games Augmented reality games Delisted digital-only games Free-to-play video games Harry Potter video games IOS games Location-based games Niantic, Inc. games Multiplayer and single-player video games Products and services discontinued in 2022 Vertically-oriented video games Video games developed in the United States