Developer Niantic found itself in the middle of a monster success in 2016 after the release of Pokemon Go. The developer's globe-covering tech was the perfect match for the known Pokemon franchise. The pop culture phenomenon sealed the location gaming on the map of the technological world and it also launched a pocket money-spinner that is still giving them profits to this day.
Three years after the success of Pokemon Go, Niantic wants to do it all over again, and with another pop culture sensation, the world of Harry Potter.
When Harry Potter: Wizards Unite launches later this year, it will do so in a stronger state than Pokemon Go did. Pokemon Go's minimal set of launch features were unchanged for almost a year while Niantic stabilized and staffed up on its creation, and that was a whole year in which nearly half of its audience moved on. This is a mistake that Niantic does not want to repeat with Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.
Wizards Unite has fresh features, although it is a location-based mobile game like Pokemon Go, in which your character moves around a map of your area at the same time as you do, this new game reflects on Harry Potter's strengths with a focus on notable narrative storytelling and collaborative gameplay.
What makes the game different is that it has no Houses to compete against, no teams and no competitive spell-casting against other players. All players will be on the same side, working together as part of the SOS or the Statue of Secrecy Task Force. The SOS is a group formed by the top wizards to hunt down dangerous artifacts that are littered worldwide, and your task is to make sure that they are safe.
Players can choose from three classes - the Auror, which is the group that is best at defeating dark wizards and casting spells, the Magizoologist, a group that specializes in tackling magical beasts and the Professor, a group with in-depth magical knowledge. Each group has its own skill tree, which you can invest in and switch between at will.
Wizards Unite takes place in the modern day, and it will begin with grown-up Auror Harry Potter sending you off to investigate a magical event that is known as the Calamity which has conjured up "Fundable". The Fundable are magical creatures, items, and characters that you must find during the game, and they are scattered across the world.
