Niantic, the studio behind Pokemon GO, has just announced that it will be shuttering its AR Harry Potter game. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was the studio’s second foray into creating real-world AR games for a large franchise. The game debuted back in 2019 hot off the heels of Pokemon GO.
However, it looks like the Harry Potter game isn’t fairing as well as its predecessor. The company announced that wizards and witches still immersed in the game will be casting their last spell on January 31, 2022. The game will be delisted from the Google Play Store, App Store and Galaxy Store come December 6, 2021. In-app purchases will be disabled on the same day. This means that you will no longer be able to download the app or buy any in-game items come 6 December.
That said, Niantic isn’t simply leaving players high and dry when it comes to content. The studio guarantees that it will be wrapping game storylines before shutting down. In its blog post, the company detailed a number of events that will be playable leading up to January 31, 2022. Events will kick off starting in November.
The events are listed below:
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
In addition to these events, Niantic will also be making changes to gameplay to allow players to complete pending quests in anticipation of the closure. The first few changes have come into effect on November 2, 2021. This includes increased rewards, quicker brewing times and increased spell energy and ingredient spawns.
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite players will have until January 31, 2022, to complete the game and use up their in-game items. Niantic notes that beyond this date, players will be unable to access anything from the game as servers will be taken offline. In addition, it is saying that there will be no refunds for in-game purchases.
