Niantic, the makers of the unbelievably popular Pokémon GO, is working on its next game: “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.” That sound you hear is a million childhood memories firing in minds across the globe.
TechCrunch reports that the game is being made in partnership with Warner Bros Interactive. Other than a launch date set sometime next year, we don’t know much about the game. I think it’s safe for Potterheads to make a few educated guesses, though.
I’d expect the app would turn your smartphone into your wand — I would kill to see if the app gives you a wand wood or core based on your model of phone (unicorn hair cores for iPhones, natch). We’ll probably see people flicking their phones around to trigger common spells, perhaps to repel AR garden gnomes or unlock doors.
I also expect to see people summoning Patronuses to repel in-game Dementors — if we get to connect our official Patronuses from Pottermore, you’ll never see me again because I’ll be fully absorbed in this game. No telling if we’ll see anything specifically Hogwarts-related, or if we’ll get whatever the Potter-related equivalent of gyms are.
The world of Harry Potter comes with just as much built-in lore as that of Pokémon, and just as many funny hand motions to imitate, so I’m fairly confident Niantic can make a good follow-up without deviating too far from its formula.
We’ve contacted Niantic for more information.
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