Pokemon Go's Niantic taps 'Harry Potter' magic for new AR game

No release date was given for the "Harry Potter" game, but Niantic and Time Warner Inc`s Warner Bros said more details would be available next year. Image Source: Reuters

Fantastic beasts, wizard adventures and magic spells will come to life in a new "Harry Potter" augmented reality mobile game from Pokemon Go developer Niantic Inc and Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment, the companies said on Wednesday.

"Harry Potter: Wizards Unite" will bring author J.K. Rowling`s Wizarding World to mobile phones and use augmented reality (AR) to create a real-world scavenger hunt, allow players to cast spells, find artifacts, team up and encounter magical beasts and characters from the popular book series.

The game`s use of real locations is similar to Niantic and Nintendo Co Ltd`s Pokemon Go, which became the first mass market adoption of AR in July 2016 and allows players to "catch" animated characters that appeared in their real surroundings.

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No release date was given for the "Harry Potter" game, but Niantic and Time Warner Inc`s Warner Bros said more details would be available next year.

Warner Bros Pictures, which produced the $7.7 billion-grossing "Harry Potter" film franchise, will release "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2" in November 2018, the second installment in a new series of films that expand the world Rowling created in her Potter franchise.

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