Eagerly anticipated Harry Potter: Wizards Unite launches this Friday

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The wizard world and the muggle world mix in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.
Coming soon to an App Store near you.
Photo: Niantic and WB Games

What property could possibly make for an AR game more tantalizing to ’90s kids than Pokémon Go? Answer: The Harry Potter franchise, of course.

We’re about to get it, too, since Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is launching in just a couple days time, on June 21, in the United States and U.K.

Like the massively popular Pokémon Go, Wizards Unite is being part-developed by Niantic. In the game, players are assigned to join the Statute of Secrecy Task Force. Their job is to protect the wizard world from being discovered by Muggles. You have to collect assorted artifacts, battle various beasts, make magic potions and a whole lot more.

Can it live up to the hype?

The game has been in beta in Australia and New Zealand for the past six weeks, and the feedback from gamers so far sounds largely positive. Oh, yes: and there’s an actual narrative thrown in there, too, which is good for anyone who can’t get enough Harry Potter storytelling.

This isn’t the first Harry Potter game for iOS. The last title, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, debuted last year. It also seems unlikely (or am I being pessimistic?) that it can capture the lightning in a bottle that was Pokémon GoBut I’d nonetheless expect this to be one of the summer’s most-played games.

It will arrive in the App Store this Friday, June 21. That means that you’ll have a whole weekend to get to grips with it and make your mind up for yourself!

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