Niantic, the studio behind GPS-based augmented reality (AR) game Pokemon Go, has snagged another major partnership: Harry Potter. The company has announced it's working on a new AR game, this one set in J.K. Rowling's world of wizards, with Warner Bros acting as a co-developer. It's called Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.
There's no solid details on how exactly the game will play (I think it's safe to assume you're not going to run around catching Dobby all day... are you?) but in a post on the Niantic website, CEO John Hanke writes, "Players will learn spells, explore their real world neighborhoods and cities to discover and fight legendary beasts and team up with others to take down powerful enemies."
It sounds fairly similar to the revamped Gym and Raids experience implemented earlier this year in Pokemon Go, where players can travel to specially-designated spots in the real world and do battle with imaginary creatures using their phone. Hopefully there's more to Wizards Unite than a simple visual swap where Pikachu becomes a Griffon. If you want to be among the first to know more when additional details are revealed in 2018, you can sign up on the Wizards Unite website.
Personally, I expectum disappointus due largely to my own unpleasant experiences playing Pokemon Go, but I also hope I'm wrong. Because let's admit it: feeling like you're a part of Harry Potter's world does sound pretty freakin' cool. But what about you? Are you excited, disappointed, or somewhere between?
