After Niantic Labs’ amazing worldwide success with Pokémon Go. They are now ready to utilise their expertise in location-based augmented reality mobile experiences for a brand new mobile game that too command a cult-like following – Harry Potter. Pure-blood, half-blood and muggles alike would be thrilled to know that Niantic Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will launch location-based augmented reality (AR) magic onto your smartphones in the near future! Imagine playing Quidditch on your way home, or summoning your Patronus to save yourself from dementors at the MRT Station!
Niantic Harry Potter: Wizards Unite – Announcement
Niantic – “We’re incredibly excited to announce this next step in the evolution of AR mobile entertainment. 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. Players will learn spells, explore their real-world neighbourhoods and cities to discover & fight legendary beasts and team up with others to take down powerful enemies. We’re thrilled to partner with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, and WB Games San Francisco’s development team to bring this magical and beloved series to life in a brand new way. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will leverage the full stack of the Niantic Platform while also providing an opportunity to pioneer all new technology and gameplay mechanics.”
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite – Game Background
Warner Bros Interactive holds the video game rights to the Harry Potter series. They have previously developed Lego-branded games through its TT Games subsidiary and also partnered Electronic Arts to create action-adventures that launched alongside the movies. According to Warner Bros Interactive, Niantic’s Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was only one of several new games based on JK Rowling’s characters that are planned.
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite – Game Mechanics
The exact details of the game mechanics are still scarce but it is likely to see a substantial influence from Niantic’s Ingress, which allows players to roam the real world collecting power-ups, defending locations and exploring their environment.
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will involve players learning spells and heading out to explore their real-world neighbourhoods in search of mysterious artefacts and combat “legendary beasts”. Similar to Pokemon Go, there will also be the option to team up with other players to “take down powerful foes”. Are you excited yet?
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite – Projected Launch
Unfortunately, Harry Potter fans would likely have to wait until next year before the game is launched. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite would probably be able to take advantage of enhanced augmented reality features provided by Apple and Google via their ARKit and ARCore developer tools, which were not available when Pokemon Go launched. However, the game developer also noted that majority of Pokemon Go players have switched off their AR functions to enhance visibility and save battery life.
Stay tuned for the latest updates to the game on AspirantSG or follow Niantic social channels to find out more!