Niantic has revealed their follow up to Pokémon Go – Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, a mobile game that allows players to explore the real world as wizards and witches working for the Statute of Secrecy Task Force, a group within the Ministry of Magic that protects J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World from curious Muggle eyes.
Developed in collaboration with Warner Bros. Games and Portkey Games, players will work together to complete various challenges to contain any magical threats in real-world locations through augmented reality (AR). While Pokémon Go was more focused on location-based entertainment than AR, Wizards Unite is attempting to lean a bit more AR functionality now that Niantic’s improved AR occlusion has been sorted out since Pokémon Go‘s launch. However, it should be noted that users can still play Wzards Unite with the AR functionality disabled.
Though the implementation of the Wizarding World will definitely draw in Harry Potter fans, Wizards Unite so far just seems like Pokémon Go with a Harry Potter skin. Instead of PokéStops, there are “Muggle locations,” and instead of Pokémon, there are Confoundables. Pre-registration to play Wizards Unite is open now on the Google Play Store (though without a definitive release date), so how Niantic will make their latest venture differ from their first game remains to be seen.
If you’re looking to get your extended reality (XR) Harry Potter fix, check out this fan-made experience that lets you explore the Ravenclaw Common Room in virtual reality (VR).
Thumbnail Source: Polygon
