Last summer, mobile gaming came into the spotlight with the release of Pokemon Go, the augmented reality game that allowed users to interact with the world of Pokemon while walking around their neighborhoods, parks, and other areas. It spurred many to go out and exercise as they chased their favorite Pokemon and hatched eggs. With the immense popularity of the app, some joked that there should also be versions of the game to go along with their favorite properties. Well, the wait for witches and wizards alike will soon be over. Yesterday, Niantic, the company behind Pokemon Go, announced that it would indeed be releasing a Harry Potter augmented reality game.
The game, due out sometime in 2018, will be called Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. Outside of the theme parks and studio tours, this will be the first opportunity fans will have to fully immerse themselves in J.K. Rowling’s magical world. According to the Niantic website, players “will learn spells, explore their real world neighborhoods and cities to discover & fight legendary beasts and team up with others to take down powerful enemies.”
There is already a website for Wizards Unite, and it mostly provides links to social media for the game, as well as a place of sign up for e-mail notifications.
Given all that Niantic has learned from the launch on Pokemon Go, as well as having Ingress, the release of Wizards Unite has the possibility to be much smoother. Having already dealt with a game with a built-in fan base, they have a better idea of the demands that will be placed on the application around the time of the launch. Niantic stated that they will be fully utilizing the abilities of their platform while also using this as an opportunity to explore new technology and gameplay mechanics. What does that mean for you, the player? That means you could possibly play all three games at once, so your favorite PokeStops or gyms could be places to pick up spells or other magical necessities.
Will you be playing Harry Potter: Wizards Unite when it launches? Are you already a user of Pokemon Go or Ingress? How do you think Niantic could improve with its third augmented reality game? Let us know in the comments!
