Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Trailer Teases The Wizarding World Augmented Reality Game

1 hour ago

The world of mobile gaming is about to get a lot more magical, with Niantic and WB Games announcing the upcoming launch of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite with a new teaser trailer.

The first trailer for Harry Potter: Wizards Unite went live today, giving viewers an idea of the theme for the upcoming augmented reality mobile game. In the trailer, we see a Snitch zipping about before getting caught by a young woman who apparates out of nowhere and hits the flitting gold trinket with an immobulus spell. She then points her wand at a wall and creates a poster that warns "The Wizarding World is at risk of Exposure. We need your help." The entire trailer is made to look like the events are being recorded by a security camera.

Obviously, that doesn't tell us a heck of a lot about the gameplay, but it does a good job of setting the tone for the highly-anticipated mobile game. Players will be working in secret, trying to blend into normal society while working to keep the muggles from learning about the world of wizards.

A press release from Niantic and WB Games gives us a few more details, including the fact that the game is set to launch sometime in 2019. It's a bummer folks won't be able to sling spells at their friends through the holidays, but it's also preferable that the game have a smooth launch.

This is not the first Harry Potter mobile game, as Hogwarts Mystery arrived earlier this year. In that particular adventure, players take on the role of a student attending the school for witchcraft and wizardry, working their way through classes, homework and various other activities while working to unravel the game's narrative.

Wizards Unite, though, will be an augmented reality game, with the now highly experienced Niantic at the helm. That's the team behind Pokemon Go and the recently launched Ingress Prime, the original version of which actually provided the skeleton for the hugely popular Pokemon AR game. They've made something of a name for themselves by developing games that let players interact with the real world in interesting ways, so we hope to see Wizards Unite evolve into something special. We figure they've had to learn a hell of a lot just from evolving Pokemon Go in recent years, so the new Harry Potter game should benefit from those lessons.

The announcement notes that players will once again explore the real world with Wizards Unite, where they will work together to solve a global mystery and cast spells. Players will also run into popular characters from the Wizarding World from time to time, as well as plenty of fantastic beasts. Given Niantic's past experience, we wouldn't be surprised if capturing these magical creatures before they can run amok in muggle society will be a big component of the gameplay.

To stay in the loop and pick apart any and all details for the game so far, be sure to keep an eye on the official website.

Back to top

Source link