AppleInsider Staff
Niantic's attempt to replicate the success of "Pokemon Go" within the "Harry Potter" universe has fallen flat, with the developer on Tuesday announcing plans to shutter an augmented reality game based on the wizarding world.
After whispers of a "Harry Potter" game surfaced in 2017, Niantic and WB Games launched "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite" in June 2019. As with many properties associated with the book and movie franchise, "Wizards Unite" was expected to be a runaway success.
Following a gameplay model popularized by "Pokemon Go," "Wizards Unite" finds players traversing the real world as members of the "Statute of Secrecy Task Force." Like Niantic's "Pokemon" title, integral AR elements immerse users in a magical world, where they are tasked with investigating "The Calamity" by collecting in-game artifacts, completing challenges and doing battle with enemy characters.
While initial response was relatively positive, the game was apparently unable to maintain a sustained user base and will be shutting down on Jan. 31, 2022. The title will be inaccessible following the shutdown, an unfortunate development for players who invested in in-app purchases.
"Wizards Unite" will be removed from the iOS App Store and Galaxy Store on Dec. 6, 2021, the same date that in-app purchases are scheduled for deactivation, according to an announcement posted to the game's website.
Ahead of the shutdown, Niantic is rolling out a number of gameplay changes that serve as a finale of sorts for longtime players.
In November, daily assignment rewards are increased, potion brew times are reduced by 50% with Master Notes, the daily cap on sending and opening gifts is removed, Barrufio's Brain Elixir potion awards triple player XP and certain items will appear more frequently on the map.
The coming months will also see special events like the introduction of the game's final Lethal Adversaries, which include Dolores Umbridge, Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix LeStrange and Voldemort. More events will be announced in January.
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5 Comments
I’m I alone and the words. “Who cares” springs to mind.
Gosh. It's almost as though people have better things to spend their time on.
No surprise there. It was one of the worst games I ever tried. They started trying to manipulate you from the very start. It was a grotesque money grabbing attempt.
I played it from the start of it being out to the public and most everyday. I liked it, and never paid any real money to play WU. Beautiful graphics and the premise brought you into the game. This game is what pushed me to upgrade my 6S+ to 2nd Gen SE for more processing power and battery life. A lot of people played it, by the comments, websites, and videos about it. Being on Android and iOS, made it more complicated to maintain. Great for adding more user base. For over three months, a lot of Android users were unable to open up portkeys by walking or running. That contributed to a loss of users. on iOS, the game would crash after opening up energy gifts. I'm sure they were hit in revenue by users being unable to visit sponsored places in the game due to covid.
The other problem it had is relying on servers. You could not play it in places that had no cell service or if there was any problems with the internet or servers. Also when the game ends, the game will be completely unplayable, even if you have the app on your phone.