The makers of Pokemon Go have unveiled a new mobile game based in the Harry Potter universe. Here’s everything you need to know about it. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Release Date – When is it coming out? Niantic has announced that Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is set for a worldwide release on June 21, 2019 in the UK and US. Across its initial release period, the following languages supported in Wizards Unite: English French Italian German Spanish Brazilian Portuguese European Portuguese Polish Russian Swedish Norwegian Dutch Danish Turkish Simplified Chinese Traditional Chinese Japanese Korean Latin American Spanish Having already soft-launched in New Zealand and Australia, on June 21, 2019 millions of players across the globe will soon be embracing their wizarding alter-egos on mobile. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Trailers – How does it look? Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Preview – What do we think? I would hate to be in the shoes of the people making a follow up to the unparalleled success that is Pokemon GO. The mobile juggernaut continues to grow, engaging players with intriguing new features while pulling in millions in revenue every week. In a way, Niantic has made captivating the world look easy. Granted, they hit the jackpot with Pokemon, bringing to life the fantasy of embarking on an epic journey to catch them all. It felt almost magnetic, forcing you to leave the house in search of creatures to catch and gyms to raid alongside friends. It’s an experience that seems impossible to replicate, but that won’t stop Niantic from trying. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite feels like a reimagined vision of Pokemon GO, repurposing the successful formula so it fits J.K Rowling’s wizarding world. After speaking with the developers and waltzing through London with the game in-hand, it’s clear Niantic has another potential worldwide hit on its hands. Related: Best iPhone Games Niantic describes Harry Potter: Wizards Unite in the same way it approaches Pokemon GO. This will be a free-to-play mobile experience that aims to engage audiences for decades to come, encouraging them to play, exercise and socialise with other fledgling wizards through the use of advanced AR technology. This title acts as the first entry in Portkey Games, a gaming initiative that hopes to explore the world of Harry Potter in great detail. We even asked about the open-world title that leaked back in 2018, eliciting little more than a closeted laugh in response. Our guess is that it’s definitely on the way. Moving onto Wizards Unite, it takes the tried-and-true mechanics of Niantic’s previous efforts and expands upon them. You are one of many, many wizards who emerge in the wake of a calamity which sees the Muggle World potentially exposed to denizens of magical creatures, and it’s your job to put a stop to it. Wizard Unite’s narrative is little more than a contextual foundation to thrust you into the Wizarding World, although it will be expanded upon as you unlock dossiers and engage with characters both new and familiar. Of course, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson haven’t reprised their roles, but convincing soundalikes manage to get the job done. The bulk of plot will be told through ‘Mysteries,’ a multi-year narrative arc that will see players working together to uncover events and the meaning behind them. It’s a cool premise, and will theoretically see little pockets of information being pieced together amongst the community. Niantic was cagey about whether Wizards Unite will be part of the Harry Potter canon beyond Portkey Games, which is a shame for hardened Potterheads. Related: Best RPG Games After a brief presentation with Warner Bros. and Niantic, I was handed an iPhone and split into a group before descending on Central London with Wizards Unite. If you’ve played Pokemon GO recently, you’ll immediately feel at home with Niantic’s latest effort. Your personal wizard is displayed on a real-world map populated by a menagerie of structures, symbols and items to uncover. At first glance, it does give off the impression of an extensive palette swap. PokeStops are replaced by Inns and Greenhouses, both of which provide you with magical energy and ingredients for brewing valuable potions. They’re once again represented by real-world monuments, with images viewable through windows as you jump into either of the aforementioned locales. It’s brilliantly implemented, making your surroundings feel part of the Harry Potter mythos. Clicking on the endless icons and performing tasks is doable with one-hand on smaller handsets, making it easy to grind resources on your morning commute or on a brief walk to the local shop. I can already see myself using this as an excuse to gain experience and getting ahead of my friends. Magical Traces, Wizard Unite’s way of presenting combat encounters, are a touch more demanding. Related: Days Gone Selecting a Magical Trace will pull you into augmented reality as you’re pitted against a magical creature, character or object from the Harry Potter universe. My first encounter was the boy who lived being sucked by an approaching dementor. Watching as he floated in mid-air was comical, but things take a serious turn once you engage them in battle. Given the extravagance that comes with most spells, Niantic has done a commendable job expressing them in Wizards Unite. Each encounter comes with a threat level. The higher it is, the more complicated spell you must perform. This is represented by patterns you must repeatedly draw on the screen, each successful pattern dealing damage to the enemy. It’s fun, responsive and easy enough to perform on the move. You’ll also need to defend yourself from strikes by performing a diagonal motion, although in the build I played this wasn’t terribly responsive. It took me a few times to down a werewolf until I grew accustomed to the mechanics, finally realising I could actually use the potions I brewed to gain the upper hand. While not substantial, there’s a level of depth here that made my progression feel meaningful. Instead of Pokemon Gyms, Wizards Unite will have you and a handful of other players tackling multi-tiered fortresses spread across the map. Represented by towering structures, Fortresses consist of multiple levels where you must complete objectives, many of which involve defeating a certain number of foes. I found the one we ran through rather easy, mowing through Death Eaters and Werewolves with little trouble. Related: Upcoming Nintendo Switch Games Progression in Wizards Unite is a relayed through regular quests where you complete simplistic tasks such as collecting ingredients, grinding greenhouses and other things you’ll likely stumble across during normal play. In the early moments you’ll be asked to select from three distinct classes: Auror, Professor and Magizoologist. All of these come with their own skill trees and abilities which surface in Fortresses to help buff neighbouring players. I only caught a few glimpses at the class system, but it seems surprisingly robust, and having the freedom to switch between the three without any penalty is definitely welcome. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention Port Keys. These wondrous objects are in limited supply, and for good reason. Upon placing them on the floor an augmented reality portal will be spawned, and you’re free to step into it. Within seconds I was transported to Olivander’s Wand Shop in Hogsmeade. I was free to move my device around to discover shiny objects to pick up. With a tap it was mine, rewarding me with small yet satisfying experience points and items for really taking advantage of the AR technology. I really, really hope this feature is expanded in the final release later this year. All this aside, you’ll be filling out a Wizard Encyclopaedia of sorts to gain experience and level up. It’s build to last. For example, you’ll need to encounter a dozen werewolves and Harry/Dementor combos to cement their place in your virtual glossary. I imagine this will grow with future updates as Niantic draws upon more and more Harry Potter lore. If you’re worried that you and your friends will be a generic horde of copy-and-pasted wizards, you needn’t panic. Each player will have their own distinctive ID to showcase their house allegiance.<doc-sep>Niantic and Warner Bros. have revealed some new details on their upcoming Harry Potter mobile game, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. The title is slated to launch for Android and iOS devices later this year, but some prospective wizards are able to sign up for it right now. Pre-registration for Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is now open for Android users on Google Play, giving those who are interested in the title a chance to sign-up and potentially receive early access. Pre-registration is not yet available on the App Store, but the developers tell iOS players to "stay tuned for more updates" on that front. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is a Pokemon Go-like take on J.K. Rowling's beloved series. As a member of Statute of Secrecy Task Force, players must explore the real world and locate Foundables--important people and items in the wizarding world--and dispel the Confoundable magic that's trapping them. While the basic premise of Wizards Unite is similar to Pokemon Go, there are numerous elements that set it apart from Niantic's hit Pokemon game. As we learned during our recent hands-on session with the title, Wizards Unite bears many similarities to a traditional RPG. The game places a bigger emphasis on story, with voice-acted characters, and features RPG elements like skill trees and potion brewing. Niantic and Warner Bros. still haven't announced a release date for Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. The game was originally scheduled to launch in 2018 but was delayed into this year. You can read more about the title on the official Harry Potter: Wizards Unite website.<doc-sep>Niantic has fully unveiled Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, its next licensed game following the Pokémon Go phenom. A co-production with Harry Potter-centric publisher Portkey Games, the mobile game will allow players to venture the real world as wizards and witches, casting spells and entering special challenges to protect the world from Muggle eyes. Here’s how Niantic describes the underlying storyline for Wizards Unite, in which players are a member of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force — a group that works to protect the Ministry of Magic’s law that wizards cannot tell Muggles (aka non-magical humans) that magic exists. A calamity has befallen the wizarding world, causing artefacts, creatures, people, and even memories to mysteriously appear in the Muggle world. Witches and wizards from across the globe must come together to solve the mystery of The Calamity, overcome the confounding chaotic magic that surrounds these “Foundables,” and return them to their rightful place, keeping them safe from Muggle eyes. Your journey begins as a new recruit of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force, established by the Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards for the purpose of investigating and containing The Calamity. In order to contain the Calamity, players must go around the world to find traces of magic and magical items called “Foundables.” These can be located at myriad “Muggle locations” around the world, sort of like PokéStops in Pokémon Go. The Traces help you discover “Foundables”: beasts, objects and people pulled out of time and even memory. pic.twitter.com/p3Vwbs9TEK — PotterMoreMischievous (@pottermore) March 11, 2019 Collecting items at these locations will help to refill Spell Energy so that wizards and witches can continue to do their thing to protect the important Foundables. This will involve tracing lines that appear on screen during AR encounters — think wild Pokémon battles, but spells, not Poké Balls, and “Confoundables,” not Pokémon. Pottermore has more of an explanation on what these are and how they work, as well as more story details. It won’t just be all Muggle mainstays like Starbucks and that bank outside your office, though; players will have the chance to experience AR versions of actual Harry Potter locations like Ollivander’s Wand Shop. (No word yet on Hogwarts appearing.) The game will also launch with multiplayer Wizarding Challenges that allow friends to group up and take on Death Eaters, Dementors, and other magical villains. It’s like trainer battles, in a sense, although friends will work together, not against each other. (Everyone will also be able to choose a magical profession on top of their Task Force duties to aid them in these challenges.) Pre-registration is open on the Google Play store for Android devices. A release date has still not been announced.<doc-sep>
Niantic's Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will be released this Friday, June 20. The new mobile game brought to gamers by the developer of Pokemon Go will be available in the US and UK later this week. Alongside a trailer for the new title posted on the game's official Twitter page, an announcement read: “Keep your eyes peeled and wand ready for more information as the game goes live in your region soon.” The worldwide launch of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite begins this Friday, June 21! Keep your eyes peeled and wand ready for more information as the game goes live in your region soon. #WizardsUnite pic.twitter.com/ckk4s4mi8a — Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (@HPWizardsUnite) June 19, 2019 The title will feature characters from both the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts movies. Gamers will play a member of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force, and will be tasked with keeping the wizarding world safe from Muggles by "investigating and containing" The Calamity. Instead of throwing Pokeballs like in Pokemon Go, gamers will cast spells. A description by Niantic read: "A calamity has befallen the wizarding world, causing artefacts, creatures, people, and even memories to mysteriously appear in the Muggle world. "Witches and wizards from across the globe must come together to solve the mystery of The Calamity, overcome the confounding chaotic magic that surrounds these 'Foundables', and return them to their rightful place, keeping them safe from Muggle eyes.” [[nid:447770]] There will also be raids similar to the ones in Pokemon Go and teamwork is required to take on monsters and dark forces from J.K. Rowling's mythical world. Niantic previously reassured fans of Pokemon Go that the game won't be affected by the new Harry Potter-themed title. In a blog post, the company explained: "We... want to say that we are 100% committed to creating an ever-changing and growing game that gets our players exploring, meeting each other, and deepening their connection to the Pokemon universe.” "We're actively expanding the Pokemon GO development team to build many more amazing features in 2018." Looking forward to its release later this year, the firm explained: "With Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, players that have been dreaming of becoming real life Wizards will finally get the chance to experience J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World”.