A much-anticipated game set in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World just launched a day early. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite has been compared to Pokemon Go, as gameplay revolves around using a phone to find augmented-reality objects scattered around the real world.
Niantic originally scheduled the debut for tomorrow, but this game is already on the iOS App Store. However, it’s only available in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand at this point.
Playing Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
An overview this game by Niantic says that witches and wizards need to discover what’s causing “artifacts, creatures, people, and even memories to mysteriously appear in the Muggle world.” The developers say these “Foundables” from the Wizarding World show up at many types of public spaces, including parks, banks, municipal buildings, college campuses, libraries, monuments, zoos, art galleries and more.
These objects can be seen through the high-tech magic of augmented reality. They need to be returned where they belong through spells cast through an iPhone or Android.
The game includes characters and content from the original 8 films as well as the current Fantastic Beasts series.
Photo: Niantic and WB Games
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is free to download and play, but offers in-app purchases. These range from $0.99 for a Bag of Runestones to $99.99 for a Vault of Gold.
