Niantic has shared that Wizards Unite will be closing completely on January 31, 2022. The game will be removed from the App Store, Google Play, and Galaxy Store on December 6, 2021, and players will no longer be able to make in-game purchases from December 6, 2021.
Niantic didn’t share much of the reasoning behind this decision, but we suspect the game didn’t fare as well as they hoped.
Reactions and changes in the game
The player base doesn’t seem to be particularly surprised and, frankly, neither are we. Niantic recently took the CATAN World Explorers offline, which was a game that never came out, so it’s no surprise that an existing IP that doesn’t perform as well is shutting down.
We’re curious to see what this means for Ingress, Niantic’s home game that’s been around for centuries. We suspect that Wizards Unite didn’t perform much better than Ingress, but the added cost of maintenance, plus a third-party IP, makes it easier to remove WU than Ingress.
We’re happy to see Niantic wrap up the story at least, as the next few months will be filled with changes and events in the game. Wizards Unite players can look forward to some changes to the game that will go into effect on November 2, 2021:
- All daily assignments will have their rewards increased
- All potion brewing times will be reduced by 50% with master notes
- The daily limit on sending and opening gifts will be eliminated.
- Barrufio’s Brain Elixir Potion will now grant 3 × Player XP
- Portkey Portmanteaus from the 1920s will appear on the map more frequently and the associated Shard rewards will be doubled
- Spell energy and ingredients will appear on the map more frequently.
Over the next several months, players will also be able to look forward to the following events, including the release of the remaining Lethal Adversaries:
November
- Dolores Umbridge’s Deadly Adversaries Event
- Half-Blood Prince Brilliant Event, Part 1
- Lucius Malfoy Deadly Adversaries Event
- Half-Blood Prince Brilliant Event, Part 2
December
- Bellatrix Deadly Adversaries Event
- Horcrux Hunt Part 2
- Voldemort’s Deadly Adversaries Event
- Brilliant Deathly Hallows Event Part 1
- Festive event
- Brilliant Deathly Hallows Event Part 2
January
- We will share more details on additional changes to the game that will occur during the month of January.
Parting words
It’s always sad to see a game go sideways like this, especially when the franchise it’s based on is something like Harry Potter, Pokémon, or Transformers.
However, I must admit that this was a long time coming, and the NIA’s decision is not in the least surprising. Sorry, but the HP franchise deserves a better, easier to understand and more immersive mobile game.
We hope it arrives in the next few years. To all members of our staff at Wizards Unite Center, there’s not much to say: you guys did the best you could, despite the popularity of the game, and I’m happy and honored to have read your articles, guides, and news.
The post that Wizards Unite closes on January 31, 2022 appeared first on the Pokémon GO Hub.