Harry Potter: Wizards Unite microtransactions will allow players to customize something called "selfie avatars," explains developer Niantic. The hotly anticipated mobile game from the makers of Pokemon GO has been released early and is now available today on Android and iOS devices in some territories.

Speaking to Polygon, Jonathan Knight, the head of the game's publisher Warner Bros., revealed how Harry Potter: Wizards Unite's microtransactions will work. The game will offer a character creation area that Knight calls the "selfie avatar" and it allows players to customize still images and videos of themselves. Some of the customization options spoken about by the publication are Hagrid's beard and Luna Lovegood's glasses. Niantic has confirmed that Hogwart's houses won't be a hugely important part of the game, but a Ravenclaw scarf is another selfie avatar item that the publication talks about.

These customization options and others will be available to Harry Potter: Wizards Unite players through normal gameplay. Players will be able to unlock them as they go. However, the game will also allow players to purchase gold coins from Gringott's Bank for real money and then these coins can be spent to speed up the process of unlocking customization options. Players will also be able to spend money kits that give them spell energy, Dark detectors, gold, and potions.

As well as the selfie avatar, the game will also give Harry Potter: Wizards Unite players a Ministry of Magic identity card. This card just seems to add to the Harry Potter fun as it shows the player's Hogwart's house and the character class that the player has chosen. Players will be able to see each other's Ministry of Magic cards, but the selfie avatar will not be on it.

The mobile game is only available in a few regions and so its full popularity won't be known until Niantic and Warner Bros. make it available for everyone. However, with microtransaction prices starting at around $0.99 for 80 pieces and going up to as much as $100 for 12,000 pieces of gold, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite could potentially make bank.

Pokemon GO has made more than $1.2 billion in revenue since its release in 2016, while Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, another Harry Potter game published by Warner Bros., has made more than $100 million. If selfie avatars become popular and fans spend money on kits to get a headstart in the game, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite could be the next, big mobile money maker.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is out now for iOS and Android mobile devices.

Source: Polygon