Here's everything we know about 'Harry Potter: Wizards Unite,' the new game from the creators of 'Pokemon Go' coming later this year
In "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite" you'll explore the real world to find traces of magic at special destinations, including inns, greenhouses and fortresses.
Magical encounters use 3D graphics and nifty augmented reality effects to project each scenario onto your surroundings. Every successful encounter gets logged in your registry, granting rewards.
Some encounters will have you aid magical creatures, like this Demiguise from "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."
Others will force players to duel against dark wizards, like Lord Voldemort's fearsome Death Eaters.
Players will be able to cast various spells by tracing patterns on their screen, with points for speed and accuracy.
Players will be sorted into one of the four houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw. Niantic has teased some social features to be announced, but it's not clear how your choice of houses will impact gameplay.
Players will also choose a profession, like Auror, Magizoologist, or Professor, to aid on their adventure by granting them unique skills.
In "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite," Players can specialize in different professions, like auror, magizoologist, and professor. Each profession has their strengths: Aurors are wizards who battle against the dark arts, while magizoologists track magical creatures.
Players can team up to unlock special bonuses during Wizarding Challenges.
When visiting fortresses on the map, players will also be able to complete in Wizarding Challenges, which are multiplayer events that pit teams against a field of enemies, often with special conditions or handicaps.
Players from different professions will be encouraged to work together to defeat Wizarding Challenges and unlock rare bonuses.
You may not see Professor Snape in "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite," but you can mix your own potions.
In "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite" players can mix potions using ingredients collected in their travels, including from greenhouses. Potions can boost help provide some temporary bonuses, but Niantic warns that you'll have to go exploring in different real-life weather conditions to collect all the ingredients you might need.
Players can find portkeys, which will "teleport" them to different locations in the Wizarding World and give them the chance to look around.
In the Harry Potter universe, portkeys are typically ordinary items that would easily be overlooked by regular people — but that wizards can use to travel instantly to another location.
If players discover a portkey, they'll be able to use their phone as a gateway to an iconic location in the Wizarding World. Using the portkey, players can view a full 360-degree environment, like Ollivander's wand shop, in augmented reality.
The full story of "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite" might take years to tell.
As they make progress, players will discover more clues leading to the truth behind the Calamity. Niantic says "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite" will have a narrative spanning multiple years, with various mysteries to unravel.
While the game doesn't take place at Hogwarts, Harry, Hermoine, Hagrid and other favorites all make appearances in "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite" and its fully voice-acted story.
"Harry Potter: Wizards Unite" will launch later in 2019; be sure to check back for more updates as Niantic puts the finishing touches on its latest augmented reality game.
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