Forget Pokemon Go, Niantic drops Harry Potter Wizards Unite release date hint
POKEMON Go is about to get some serious competition, as Niantic makes a big announcement.
WARNER BROS
Pokemon Go is about to get some serious competition from another Niantic game.
Niantic has just dropped a big hint about the Harry Potter: Wizards Unite release date.
According to Niantic CEO John Hanke, the upcoming AR game will be released in the second half of 2018.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Hanke also said that Niantic would be better prepared for the Harry Potter launch.
Pokemon Go was so popular that the servers struggled to keep up with demand.
There were also complaints about some of the real world locations that were used as PokeStops.
It's believed that the upcoming Harry Potter AR game will be heavily influenced by Niantic's previous augmented reality hit Ingress.
This saw players going to locations around the world to collect power-ups, defend hotspots and explore their environment.
The Harry Potter AR game would also benefit from the location database originally built for Ingress, and then expanded by Pokemon Go.
It had previously been reported last year that Niantic were building a game based in the world of Harry Potter, but that rumour was later squashed.
The news comes as Pokemon Go's Christmas event comes to an end.
As part of the Pokemon Go Christmas event, fans will encounter additional water and ice-type Pokemon, as well as special Pikachus wearing Santa hats.
Players can also pick up a selection of item bundles from the in-game store. This includes the Winter Box, the Great Box and the Ultra Box.
Winter Boxes contain four Lucky Eggs, two Premium Raid Passes and five Star Pieces. Great Boxes feature two Super Incubators, eight Lucky Eggs, Premium Raid Passes and ten Star Pieces.
Ultra Boxes, meanwhile, contain six Super Incubators, 16 Lucky Eggs, ten Premium Raid Passes and 20 Star Pieces.
Unfortunately, however, you only have until 9pm UK on January 4 to participate in the Christmas event.
