After launching the Pokémon Go-like AR game Pikmin Bloom in some regions last week, developer Niantic has announced that it is shutting down another one of its AR games: Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. The announcement was made on the game's official website, which states that the game will be removed from the App Store, Google Play and Galaxy Store on December 6, 2021; and it will only be available to play till January 31, 2022.

"When we launched Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, our vision was to allow players to experience the wizarding world right in their real-world surroundings as they stepped outside and explored their neighborhoods," reads the announcement. "Over the years, millions of witches and wizards around the globe have embarked on real-world adventures, coming together to keep magic hidden safe within the wizarding world while joining forces to take on The Unforgivable. During this time, players have also worked alongside Hermione and Harry as part of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of the London Five and are now on the verge of putting an end to the Calamity."

While Harry Potter: Wizards Unite players won't be able to make in-game purchases as of December 6, some in-game events are planned for the coming months until the game is rendered unplayable as follows:

• November
  • Dolores Umbridge Lethal Adversaries Event
  • Half-Blood Prince Brilliant Event Part 1
  • Lucius Malfoy Lethal Adversaries Event
  • Half-Blood Prince Brilliant Event Part 2
• December
  • Bellatrix Lethal Adversaries Event
  • Horcrux Hunt Part 2
  • Voldemort Lethal Adversaries Event
  • Deathly Hallows Brilliant Event Part 1
  • Holiday Event
  • Deathly Hallows Brilliant Event Part 2
• January
  • We’ll share more details regarding additional game changes that’ll happen during the month of January.

To find more details, you can head to the source link below.

SOURCE

 

[FAST6191]

What part of the wizarding fantasy includes endless walking?

I will give for Harry Potter it is dubious. However "only wizards can see it magic item harvesting/mana source control/mana source renewal/spell fragment learning/spell sharing/guild control/follow the clues to find the puzzle/GPS driven actual historical lore for the area/AR augmented by bluetooth or something for revealing hidden nearby wizards ..." that seems like everything all the AR companies should be fighting over with the only thing likely to get more players is whatever company figures out virtual sex. Not entirely sure how I would set about monetising it in a good way (pay to win is out, pay to reset stats is possible but minimal income most likely, skins/cosmetics perhaps, alternative paths to play is doable but hard to do well, paid shorten unlock/"research" times maybe, paid with cut to join/form guilds maybe) but could probably figure something out.

 

[Dr_Faustus]

Anyone here still playing Ingress?

I don't anymore, but oh boy I can tell you stories. So many goddamn stories. I was one of the original day 1 closed beta testers for the game, and a good chunk of my late 2012-2016 I was involved in the game until I retired for a second time (and for good) after Aegis Nova's Brooklyn anomaly.

Apparently it was a good time to retire given the downturn it would go into. But I did so because of how they were treating GO and the future of players because of it.

I think you confused Wizard Unite (out since 2019) with Hogwarts Legacy, which is still under development.

It's possible, but I swore that the last time I heard about this game was that it was still not fully released yet. That said I have been purposely avoiding Niantic stuff for awhile now. I only see into it to laugh at it.

I love Ingress, it really, literally, changed my life. However, I've been banned on the day Pokémon GO was released because I messed with fake GPS (it was available only in Australia). I think they used the same API or it was running on the background, I don't know. They banned me on Ingress, but not on Pokémon. x___x

Clearly you were driving too fast in your car while hacking some portals.

 

[ScarletDreamz]

The game only made $40MM since inception. Maybe that's not enough in the 21st century. lol

you tell me.

https://sensortower.com/blog/pokemon-go-five-billion-revenue

 

[eyeliner]

I can't bieve that they'll axe a way to control people's lives.
Don't Chinese or Russian or American big datas pay well for people's telemetry?
GPS tracking, camera captures, screen presses, etc are not that well valued, and don't pay as good as once did, it seems...

 

[SG854]

Looks like Niantic did the Avada Kedavra spell on this app

 

[Julie_Pilgrim]

OH NO

anyway

 

[K3Nv2]

So Avada kadavra really works, quick everyone that dislikes me stand in a row, I'm sure this will take some time.

 

[ElSasori69]

Oh no, don't go...yeah I remeber trying it once, uninstalled the app the same day.

 

[SS4]

It's AR, not VR...

Oh damn, i misread that. Well even less of a loss then lol