Yesterday we found out that Niantic, the developers of Pokemon Go, are collaborating with Warner Bros. and Portkey Games to release a Harry Potter AR game next year. Today, we’ve received a press release from Warner Bros. detailing the game with a bit more information and quotes from John Hanke, founder and CEO of Niantic, and David Haddad, President of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
When we first covered the game’s reveal reports stated that it would be similar to Pokemon Go and Ingress in that it would require players to explore the real world using their phone’s GPS via location-based events and challenges. According to the press release, that sounds accurate:
“Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will reveal that magic is all around us…By exploring real-world neighborhoods and cities across the globe, players will go on adventures, learn and cast spells, discover mysterious artifacts, and encounter legendary beasts and iconic characters.”
Of course we still don’t have a ton of details, but we can speculate a bit. In regards to the “learn and cast spells” bit, that has a lot of promise to feel great using your phone’s motion sensors and I can only imagine which “mysterious artifacts” we’ll be able to find. There will likely be a heavy tie-in with the upcoming Fantastic Beasts sequel, so we’ll have to wait and see how that plays out.
“At Niantic, our goal is to leverage technology to create real world experiences that help people to discover the wonderful, and often magical parts of the world around them,” said Hanke in the prepared statement. “The beloved Harry Potter stories have captured imaginations worldwide for more than 20 years and soon we’ll turn the fantasy into augmented reality, allowing fans and their friends to become wizards and witches.”
We probably won’t find out anything else about Harry Potter: Wizards Unite until the first part of next year at the earliest. You can sign up for more details on the official website. What do you think of the news so far? Let us know down in the comments below!
