Link to newsround

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite to shut down January 2022

Publicity still from the gameNiantic/Warner Bros

The augmented reality game will still be playable until it switches off its servers in the New Year

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, the augmented reality game with a magical twist, will shut down in January 2022.

The game was first released in June 2019, and allowed players to walk through the Potterverse using smartphones and tablets, finding magical objects and engaging in wizard combat.

What is augmented reality?

  • Often referred to as AR, it is when computer images are projected onto things and places in real life

  • For example, through your smartphone or tablet camera, you can see animated characters or magical objects in the game Wizards Unite

The game was the wizarding world's answer to monster-catching AR game Pokémon Go, and was created by the same company, Niantic Labs.

No specific reason has been given for the decision yet, but Niantic said in a statement that "not all games are meant to last forever".

They said: "Our goal with Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was to bring the magic of the wizarding world to life for millions of players as they stepped outside and explored their neighbourhoods. We accomplished that together, delivering a two-year narrative story arc that will soon complete."

When will it switch off and can you still play until it does?

It will end on 31 January 2022. It will also be removed from app shops, and the community forums and social media channels will close, too. Niantic has said that there will be no refunds on in-game items and players have until the end of January to spend any remaining in-game currency.

The game will still be playable until the switch off though, with the company saying there will be a number of in-game events for players throughout November. There have also been a number of changes made to gameplay this month, which will last until the shutdown in the New Year.

What's new in the game?

  • All Daily Assignments have increased rewards

  • All Potion Brew times have been reduced by half with Master Notes

  • The daily cap on sending and opening Gifts has been removed

  • Spell Energy and Ingredients will appear on the map more frequently

NIANTIC/PORTKEY GAMES

You could level up by finding magical objects, brewing potions and casting spells

What other AR games are out there?

Pokémon Go is still going strong, and Niantic recently released Pikmin Bloom, another mobile app game made in collaboration with Nintendo.

Niantic

Pikmin was a game originally released on the Nintendo Gamecube console in 2001

Niantic also have a Transformers game called Transformers: Heavy Metal in the works, too.

AR games have had mixed success, however. While Pokémon Go still gets hundreds of millions of players a month, other AR game projects haven't done so well. For example, Catan: World Explorers, only lasted a year before being shut down.

Microsoft also decided to pull the plug on its AR game Minecraft Earth earlier this year, to free up more 'resources' to put into the Minecraft community.

More on this story