Niantic shot to international fame in 2016 when it premiered Pokemon GO. The mobile Pokemon game was a revolutionary entry in augmented reality games, permanently establishing AR as part of Niantic's brand. It stands to reason, then, that Niantic has explored other mobile AR titles since then, including Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, which premiered in 2019. Any longtime fan of the Harry Potter world probably took note of this AR experience where players could explore the real world to interact with Harry Potter characters. While the concept was solid and entertained a loyal fanbase for more than two years, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is now shutting down.
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite's cancellation came with very little warning. Niantic has consistently released new content and events, even throughout last October. Although Niantic's statement on the Wizards Unite closure doesn't provide an exact reason that the game is shutting down, it's possible that the game just didn't retain enough of a playerbase to survive, potentially due to its reputation for bugginess. For those Wizards Unite die-hards, though, Niantic is still offering some final events to entertain fans in the game's final months. Aside from the final details of Wizards Unite's closure, there are some valuable final events for the game's fans to enjoy for a while.
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite's Final Months
Although there's only a couple months left to play Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, Niantic seems determined to help players make the most of it. From now until the game's closure, players will get many more resources. Daily Assignments offer more rewards, Gifts have had their opening and sending caps removed, and Spell Energy, Ingredients, and 1920s Portkey Portmanteaus will appear more often. Potions are also more accessible to help fans max out their characters; Master Notes will halve potion brewing times, and Barrufio's Brain Elixir will triple XP income. Wizards Unite fans shouldn't be lacking in any major resources in the coming months.
Aside from keeping fans stocked on resources, there's plenty of activities on the way, even though the game is closing. Lethal Adversaries have served as major objectives in the game for some time, and Niantic still plans on releasing the final Lethal Adversaries in November and December. Aside from these, a litany of events themed around sixth and seventh Harry Potter books are on the way, as well as a holiday season event in December. All of these events will presumably lead up to the conclusion of Wizards Unite's overarching story in January.
Perhaps the most important thing to know is the game's exact end date. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will shut down on January 31, 2022, but it'll become inaccessible to new players well before that. The game will disappear from mobile phone app stores on December 6, 2021. What's more, Wizards Unite's in-app purchases will no longer be available on December 6th, so Wizards Unite players had better make the most of their in-game currency before December rolls around. It wouldn't be surprising if Niantic offers closure discounts or some other special deals later in November, though this is purely speculation.
The Legacy of Wizards Unite
One wonders why Niantic seemingly decided to close Wizards Unite so suddenly. It's possible that it has something to do with Pikmin Bloom, another Nintendo collaboration in the works at Niantic. Once Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is closed, Niantic will have more resources to put into Pikmin Bloom, potentially setting it up for greater success. It's a shame that Wizards Unite never achieved the staying power of Pokemon GO, but at least Niantic is aiming to give fans a satisfying closure to the gameplay and narrative before Wizards Unite goes offline. Wizards Unite may be disappearing now, but it taught Niantic plenty of valuable lessons about the AR format that could help Pikmin Bloom and future projects.
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is available now for Android and iOS.