Been moping since The Goblet of Fire because you couldn’t participate in the Triwizard Tournament even though you know you could have qualified and beat everyone to the cup? Drop the long face; Niantic is bringing J.K. Rowling’s magical world to AR with a Pokemon Go-like game dubbed Harry Potter: Wizard’s Unite. And you don’t have to be seventeen to play it!
There’s real poetry to this idea – Rowling’s world can only be seen by wizards. The one Niantic is working on with Warner Bros. Interactive can only be seen by people with the game on their smartphones. The AR aspect of the forthcoming game seems to wrap around the Harry Potter universe in a more wholesome way when compared to the Pokemon kingdom. Or it may just be our bias towards wizards talking.
According to the press release issued by Niantic, players will be able to explore Rowling’s magical world in real world neighborhoods much the same way Pokemon Go allows players to roam around the streets in search of monsters to capture. Wizards Unite will feature legendary beasts that gamers will be able to fight. They will even be able to team up with others to take down (boss?) enemies.
There’s also mention about learning spells here. We assume some wand waving will be involved. It’s possible Niantic may sell some wand-type accessory for the game in the future. It already ships the Pokemon Go Plus notifications device for enthusiasts who don’t want to miss out on the chance to catch a monster. The details are thin on the ground right now. But stay tuned for more!