Harry Potter: Wizards Unite to retire
Niantic was very successful with the augmented reality game Pokemon Go and is still making millions from it. Over five billion dollars has been raised in five years and the game is still played by a loyal fan base. The comparable Harry Potter game didn't go as well. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will be removed from the App Store on December 6, and will end on January 31, 2022. Why? That's not what the makers say. But we do have a hunch.
The game was released in June 2019, also in the Netherlands and Belgium. You become part of a secret Task Force and must discover Wizarding World locations in the real world, just like in Pokemon Go. In recognizable places you will encounter magical objects, figures and enemies from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts series. In the game you also work together with other players that you meet on the street. Defeating enemies will get you higher.
Just like in Pokemon Go, augmented reality plays a major role, for example to show portals and all kinds of items in your own environment. As a thank you to the fans, some changes will be made to the game from now on, making it more fun to play. There is more to earn with the daily quests and potions are now ready in half the time. Also, more items appear on the map and there are extra events around Dolores Umbridge, Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix LeStrange and Voldemort. But from December 6, the end will be ushered in: from that moment you can no longer make in-app purchases and from January it really ends.
If you have invested money in the game you will not get it back. You can, however, spend your credit before the end of January. Not only the game, but also the community forum and social media channels will go black on January 31, 2022.
Fortunately, there is already another game that you can go out with: Pikmin Bloom is just started and works in a similar way: you walk around in your own environment and come across all kinds of items.