Harry Potter Wizards Unite: Information and release date of the new Niantic AR game after Pokémon Go

Harry Potter Wizards Unite is Niantic’s next augmented reality smartphone game, after Pokémon Go. Developed in direct partnership with Warner Bros, the game will be launched in 2019. Find out everything you need to know about this very promising title: price, release date …

In July 2016, Niantic launched Pokémon Go, a mobile game destined to become a global phenomenon. Thanks to augmented reality, Pokémon Go has been able to transpose the magic of Pokémon games into the real world.

A whole generation of nostalgic thirty-year-olds (but also the youngest and oldest ones) has set out again to try to become the best trainer and catch all Pokémon. The concept of Pokémon Go is simple, but effective: superimpose virtual Pokémon to real-world environments filmed by the user’s smartphone camera.

Thus, by doing a little walk his imagination, the player really has the impression that little monsters appear in front of him, in his living room, in his garden, on the way to work or during a walk in the park. Similarly, high-traffic places in a city are considered in the game as arenas that players must conquer by sending their Pokémon team into battle.

It was enough to unleash the passions and convince, the time of a summer, hundreds of thousands of people to walk the streets nose screwed to their smartphones screens to find the largest number of Pokémon.

To the chagrin of many marketers and other real estate developers who had capitalized on this phenomenal success, the Pokémon Go fashion quickly faded , and the general public quickly turned away from the game at the return of the fall.

Nevertheless, Pokémon Go remains one of the busiest mobile games on a daily basis, and updates follow one another to offer new features or add new generation Pokémon.

However, in order to expand its audience, it seems that Niantic has decided to exploit another extremely popular franchise: Harry Potter , the famous saga of JK Rowling’s books, adapted to the cinema through a series of equally famous films produced by Warner Bros.

Harry Potter: what is it?

Before going any further, it’s worth remembering what Harry Potter is, in case you’ve been in a cave for the past 20 years. This saga of 7 books, started in 1997, has been sold to more than 400 million copies in total. With 8 films, 8 video games and 400 official derivatives, the value of the Harry Potter brand is estimated at more than $25 billion .

This fantastic literary saga tells the story of an abused boy, who discovers one day that he is in fact a wizard. The young Harry Potter begins his schooling at Hogwarts, the school of wizards, and marks the beginning of an adventure full of magic, suspense, emotion and humor that captivated readers around the world.

Harry Potter Wizards Unite: what is it?

It is on this worldwide success that Niantic plans to bounce back for his next project, Harry Potter: Wizardz Unite. Officially announced in November 2017, Harry Potter Wizards Unite is Niantic’s next mobile game, created in partnership with Warner Bros Interactive.

Like Pokémon Go, this game will feature augmented reality features, and will be based on the same AR platform developed by Niantic for Pokémon Go and Ingress. Obviously, we will find many points in common with the previous two games of the developer. However, NIantic announces already that this new title will propose totally new technologies and mechanics.

As in Ingress and Pokémon Go, the game will inspire players to explore the real world and uncover secrets using their smartphone’s camera. Geolocation will be used to locate the player in the real world.

Until March 2019, very little information was revealed about Harry Potter Wizards Unite. It has been confirmed that players will have the task of discovering and dealing with fantastic creatures using spells. Users will have the pleasure of meeting characters from the world of the saga. Of course, as wizards, players will also have the opportunity to learn spells and use them to fight.

The social dimension of Ingress and Pokémon Go will also be preserved, and it will be possible to team up with other players to overcome formidable opponents. As they progress, players will discover new artifacts and become more and more powerful wizards.

As in the previous two games, we can also assume that players will have to choose between several rival factions. Presumably, they will have to choose between the four houses of Hogwarts, the school of wizards: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Sepentard (unless the Magic Hat will choose for them …).

As part of the development of this game, Warner Bros. has created a brand new publishing label called Portkey Games. This label will work actively on the development of Harry Potter Wizards Unite, but will also develop other games based on the Harry Potter universe for console and mobile in the years to come.

Wizards Unite will be the first game in this collection. We do not know for the moment what will be the nature of the link that will unite these different games. Shortly after the official announcement of the game, Niantic raised $200 million. We can thus expect that this game is much more complete and complete than Pokémon Go.

Harry Potter Wizards Unite: Pokemon Go with a touch of RPG

In early March 2019, Niantic finally let the press from around the world discover Harry Potter Wizards Unite. The opportunity to learn a lot more about the game.

Thus, as expected, the title is akin to Pokémon Go. The game map corresponds to the real world, and the points of interest of the real world can retrieve virtual objects.

The scenario takes place in full crisis, shortly after the events of the seventh book of the series , and players must prevent the non-magical world from discovering the magical world. The player embodies a new recruit from the Magic Secret Code Intervention Group.

Its mission is to investigate and contain the calamity that strikes the wizarding world. To do this, it will collect artifacts and fight against the magical creatures that threaten to be revealed to the big game because they have been mysteriously moved.

The main objective of the player is to collect various artifacts, but also to save the emblematic characters of the saga when they are in delicate situation. To do this, it will be necessary to indulge in a mini-game consisting of drawing forms to perform an incantation.

This will get an object to free the character. The objects and characters can then be added to a collection book. The player earns experience points, and increases level.

However, the game is much more complex than Pokémon Go. Role-playing elements have been added, and the player will have to spend time raising the level of his character. He will also have to choose a “profession” , in the spirit of the class system found in almost every RPG. This will make it possible to learn new abilities to choose from in a talent tree.

Once ready for combat, the player can then join up to 5 comrades to fight in a Fortress. Fortresses will be the equivalent of the Pokémon Go arenas. These battles in the Turn-based Sorcerer Challenges team are particularly strategic, and are reminiscent of the tactical RPG genre. They will make it possible to obtain rarer magic rewards.

As in RPGs, it will also be possible to prepare potions to increase stats or recover health during combat. Hostels around the world will be replenishing spell energy and magic ingredients for potions (the equivalent of Pokémon Go Poké-Stops).

You’ll understand: unlike Pokémon Go, this new title is more for seasoned gamers than for the general public . However, there is no doubt that fans of Harry Potter will find their account too.

Harry Potter Wizards Unite: What fans are hoping for

For now, little information has been unveiled about Harry Potter Wizards Unite. However, nothing prevents us from trying to imagine what we can find in the game. In 2015, a game called Maguss was launched thanks to the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform. This game already combined augmented reality and witchcraft, and so we can expect Harry Potter: Wizards Unite borrows several ideas from this project warmly welcomed by the public.

Like Harry Potter and his wizarding classmates over the course of their schooling, players are likely to learn new spells as they progress through the game. This point has been confirmed by the revelation of a system of classes and tree of capabilities.

It is also possible that some spells are rarer than others, and are obtained by accomplishing special goals. For example, players could get the most powerful spells fighting fearsome creatures or monsters that rarely appear.

The rare spells could also be obtained by visiting specific places, and why not at specific times. Recall that, recently, Pokémon Go takes into account the weather of the real world. It is also possible that these spells can be obtained during one-off events, like the legendary Pokémon in Pokémon Go.

With the help of spells, the goal of the game will probably be to fight monsters, mythical creatures and other henchmen of Voldemort. One can also expect the implementation of a system of duels, allowing players to compete against each other.

This system will certainly pick up several mechanics of the Pokémon Go arena system. The clashes would then take place at fixed locations, but it is also possible that the players will be able to face the other users they will cross in their path. These duels will undoubtedly offer a tactical dimension, forcing players to choose the spells they use strategically. One can also dream of big battles between the players of the different houses of Hogwarts.

The smartphone could even be used directly as a magic wand, which the user should wave in specific ways to send such or such a spell. It is also possible that Niantic offers additional accessories as a magic wand, like the Pokémon Go Plus bracelet. Thus, the player could keep his phone in front of him and use his Bluetooth connected wand to cast spells.

In addition to spells, players may be required to make potions using ingredients collected from various locations in the real world. Users would then be encouraged to go for a walk in the forest, lakeside or other places for beautiful ballads to find valuable resources to mix to create beverages for various effects. The Potions Crafting System has also been confirmed.

Another welcome feature in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite would be the presence of hidden places, secret passages, emblematic of the famous literary saga. For example, by pointing the camera of his smartphone at the wall of a station, the player could discover the entrance to the station leading to Hogwarts.

By observing the world through the screen of his smartphone, the player could also discover a magical world tinged with fairy elements and populated by fantastic creatures. The opportunity to rediscover his redecorated neighborhood in the style of Harry Potter would be extremely pleasant. In March 2019, Niantic confirmed that “portkey” portals will allow to visit emblematic places of the world of wizards.

While dreaming a little, one can also imagine a kind of Quidditch simulator, turning users’ bikes and motorcycles into flying brooms, but the number of road accidents linked to the game could be even more serious than those related to Pokémon Go. What do you expect from Harry Potter: Wizards Unite?

Harry Potter Wizards Unite: first video trailer

In November 2018, a first video trailer was unveiled for Harry Potter Wizards Unite. We discover a player using a spell to immobilize a Quidditch Golden Snitch. The grunt of a mysterious creature is heard, and a poster appears to summon all the wizards in the world for help while the first notes of the main theme of the Harry Potter movies are heard.

This trailer suggests that the game will feature voice recognition features. The scenario should also occupy an important place, and the players will have to join forces to face a great threat …

Harry Potter Wizards Unite: price and release date

In an interview with the Financial Times, Niantic CEO John Hanke announced that the game would be launched in the second half of 2018. However, in November 2018, the game was finally postponed to 2019.

Harry Potter Wizards Unite is finally available for pre-order on the Android Play Store since March 11, 2019. The launch should take place shortly. The pre-order button for the iOS App Store has not appeared yet, but should also be added very quickly.

Regarding the price, Harry Potter Wizards Unite will certainly be offered for free on iOS and Android. However, the presence of In-App purchases seems inevitable. Let’s hope that these purchases are not essential to progress in the game.

Regarding the price, Harry Potter Wizards Unite will certainly be offered for free on iOS and Android. However, the presence of In-App purchases seems inevitable. Let’s hope that these purchases are not essential to progress in the game.