Niantic's Next Game Will Be Called Harry Potter: Wizards Unite

The Pokémon GO developer plans to release its Harry Potter game next year.

Niantic Labs, the developer behind the hit augmented reality mobile games Ingress and Pokémon GO, has announced it will be applying its talents to a brand new augmented reality Harry Potter game called Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.

For now, specific details on Wizard Unite are scarce, but Niantic has confirmed it will be a mobile augmented reality game in the vein of its previous titles, only naturally it will be set in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter universe.

Niantic is working directly with both Warner Bros. Interactive (which owns the rights to the Harry Potter film franchise) and a new sub-studio within Warner Bros. called Portkey Games (named after the teleportation items from the Harry Potter fiction). Much like Pokémon GO, Harry Potter: Wizard’s Unite will reportedly draw heavy influence from Niantic’s 2012 breakout hit Ingress.

Given how much Pokémon GO benefited from the real-world location data that Niantic had built up with Ingress, it’s not too hard to image how Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will look and feel. Players will undoubtedly be able to align themselves with one of the Harry Potter universe’s different Hogwarts houses before going out and capturing real-life landmarks to champion their house’s cause.

Since both Ingress and Pokémon GO also have inherent player vs. player elements worked into their framework, it's safe to assume that Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will have some sort of PvP wizard dueling mechanic. Furthermore, with Warner Bros. involved, fans can expect assets from the Harry Potter movies (and maybe even the more recent Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) to show up as well.

Niantic expected to launch Harry Potter: Wizards Unite sometime in 2018. Meanwhile, if you’re still plugging away at Pokémon GO, be sure to check out our guide on how to track down those elusive Shiny Pokémon.

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