Massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) such as World of Warcraft are seemingly able to last forever. Updates and expansions are consistently released, but players would likely keep up the grind even if they weren't. As the video game industry continues developing more ongoing live-service titles across different platforms, not every venture is so lucky. Mobile games in particular have a history of shutting down, making their contents inaccessible. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is one of the next titles that will suffer this fate.

Popular augmented reality (AR) mobile developer Niantic announced Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is shuttering its doors for good in the near future. In today's blog post detailing the shut down, Niantic confirms it will no longer be available to download or support microtransactions on December 6, 2021, and then will become entirely unplayable on January 31, 2022. Though there will be gameplay changes that make Wizards Unite more accessible through the end of its life, many fans are undoubtedly disappointed to see this happen just two years in. That quick life cycle may also be a warning for those trying Niantic's newest title, Pikmin Bloom.

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Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Feels Like a Match Made in Heaven

Wizards Unite New Training

Harry Potter, the British book series-turned-worldwide multimedia empire, is one of the largest franchises ever. In 2016, CNBC reported Harry Potter was worth around $25 billion largely on the back of book and toy sales. Another breakdown by Title Max in 2019 said it was worth $30 billion, standing as the 10th highest-grossing media franchise of all time.

First on that 2019 list was Pokemon, and one big factor in its continual rise to prominance over the last few years is the success of Pokemon GO; another AR mobile game developed by Niantic. When it launched in 2016, Pokemon GO proved the viability of taking real-world gameplay developed for its prior venture Ingress and slapping on a popular skin with some unique mechanics befitting that property. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was the experiment to follow Pokemon GO, and while it also found a fanbase willing to wander the Wizarding World, that game never hit the same peaks as its older sibling.

Niantic does not specify why Wizards Unite and its associated community forums and social media channels are shutting down just two years after launch, its blog post merely thanks the "millions of witches and wizards around the globe [who] have embarked on real-world adventures." However, it's safe to assume overall downloads and cash flow never caught up to Pokemon GO, which had its highest player spending since launch during Pokemon GO Fest 2020, so Niantic is allocating its server space and development power to Pikmin Bloom - which released last month.

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Pikmin Bloom May Not Keep Up

Pikmin Bloom Walking

Despite being one of Nintendo's core franchises with representation in crossover games like Super Smash Bros. and real-world attractions like Super Nintendo World, Pikmin has never been a powerhouse. Mario and Link are household names on-par with Pokemon's Pikachu, but the miniscule plant-like Pikmin would be harder for common folk to pluck out of a line-up. Pikmin 3 Deluxe on Switch is its most successful title yet, but doesn't come close to cracking Nintendo's top-selling titles list as of June 30, 2021.

Pokemon's name recognition was a boon during the launch of Pokemon GO, which capitalized on the property using a rock-solid premise: Letting players catch Pokemon in real life. It could be argued that Wizards Unite was just as clever about designing a premise that fits the source material, as Harry Potter features a whole universe hidden just out of sight for non-magical peoples; something the mobile game's players were thus able to access. Even so, despite Harry Potter frequently being in the news thanks to new movies and controversies surrounding creator J.K. Rowling, Wizards Unite did not last long in the grand sceme of things.

Some may feel Pikmin Bloom having the backing of Nintendo ensures it will have a longer life akin to Pokemon GO, but even that isn't a guarantee. Nintendo and various developers under its wing have released a few mobile games. While Intelligent System's Fire Emblem Heroes continues to thrive years after launch, Dr. Mario World just shut down after opening its doors in 2019. Fans of Pikmin Bloom will have to get as much out of it as they can, as there's no telling when it will go the way of Wizards Unite, Dr. Mario World, or other defunct mobile titles like Minecraft Earth.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is available now for iOS and Android devices, but shuts down on January 31, 2021.

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Sources: CNBC, Nintendo