Harry Potter: Wizards Unite UK release date, trailer and all you need to know about the new AR game

Get your wands at the ready for this highly-anticipated game from the makers of Pokemon Go

Harry Potter may have been delighting fans for over 20 years now, but Potter Fever shows so signs of slowing down at all.

People still queue up to buy tickets to the Cursed Child, they still flock to Potter World and they can make their own adventures in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery.

And the latest instalment in the Potter franchise is the augmented reality (AR) game Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, created by the makers of Pokémon Go, Niantic.

Excitement has been building for the new game, which was initially announced way back in 2017, but the news which has really got Potter-heads talking is that its about to be released in the UK very soon.

Niantic revealed earlier today that the long-awaited game will have its worldwide launch soon at the end of the week - so get your wands at the ready.

On its announcement back in 2017, the company said: "We're thrilled to partner with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, and WB Games San Francisco’s development team to bring this magical and beloved series to life in a brand new way.

"Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will leverage the full stack of the Niantic Platform while also providing an opportunity to pioneer all new technology and gameplay mechanics."

A teaser trailer of the game released earlier this year had fans buzzing with excitement as fans were urged to "enlist immediately" to save the wizarding world.

Here is all you need to know about Harry Potter: Wizards Unite

What do the Wizards Unite trailers tell us about the game?

One trailer shows a young girl capturing a snitch and conjuring up a poster on a wall which reads: “The Wizarding World is at risk of exposure. We need your help,” before she disappears.

A more recent trailer released last month demonstrates a series of magical incidents occurring throughout the real world, such as floating books, giant animals outside stadiums, and a mysterious trend of pointy hats on the front of some of the worlds biggest fashion magazines.

Again, the trailer pleads: "Help save our world. Enlist immediately."

You can “enlist” to help protect the Wizarding world at HarryPotterWizardsUnite.com. According to the site, The Ministry of Magic is looking for witches and wizards to save the wizarding world from the Calamity.

Screenshots of the new Harry Potter AR game: Harry Potter Wizards Unite (Niantic )
Niantic

As part of this mission, Niantic say gamers will learn spells, explore their real neighbourhoods and cities to discover and fight legendary beasts. There's also going to be some team action involved, as you will be able to join up with other players to take down enemies.

Why Wizards Unite sounds a lot like Pokemon Go

It sounds like there is going to be more of a plot to the Harry Potter AR game compared to Pokemon Go, which encouraged people to catch different Pokémon out in the wild, using their smartphones.

If anyone is going to make a successful Harry Potter AR game, it’s going to be Niantic. A year after it released Pokemon Go, there was still 65 million people playing every month.

The company held a Pokemon Go fest in Chicago this year which saw 20,000 players gather to catch mythical Pokemon across the city.

Given the huge fan base Harry Potter still commands, there are going to be a lot of high expectations for Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.

And just like Pokemon Go, Wizards Unite is a location-based game in which the player will have to capture magical creatures by walking around in real life, although it is set to have more complexity than Go.

What is the story line to Wizards Unite?

As a member of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force, you are tasked with capturing magical creatures and objects that that have escaped the wizarding world following the "Calamity".

In order to prevent muggles knowing about the wizarding world, you must therefore attempt to not only capture the things that have appeared in the muggle world, but also try and find out what happened.

The site says: "A calamity has befallen the wizarding world, causing artefacts, creatures, people, and even memories to mysteriously appear in the Muggle world. Witches and wizards from across the globe must come together to solve the mystery of The Calamity, overcome the confounding chaotic magic that surrounds these “Foundables,” and return them to their rightful place, keeping them safe from Muggle eyes."

While very similar to Pokemon Go, it's set to be slightly more complicated than finding pokemon in the world around you.

Instead, Wizards Unite is more like a role-playing game, encouraging you to take on a character in order to carry out the missions, which is rather unique for AR mobile games.

When is the Wizards Unite release date?

This morning, Niantic took to twitter to announce that the game will begin its worldwide launch on June 21.

At the moment, it is unclear how long it will take the game to reach a global audience.

Last month, the game esd in beta phase in Australia and New Zealand, so players could test the game, albeit in limited form, and provided feedback to improve the overall experience when it goes live.

It sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun.

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