The maker of one of the biggest mobile games around is joining forces with one of the biggest forces in pop culture.
Niantic Labs, creators of the smash Pokemon Go, are working on an augmented reality Harry Potter game called Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. The game, made in conjunction with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, is expected to release next year.
Details on the game are scant, but it expected to allow players to blend the real world around them with the fantasy of J.K. Rowling’s wizard-laden universe.
Niantic is regarded as the leader in the augmented reality gaming space. Pokemon Go was released in July 2016 and quickly became a pop culture phenomenon, with over 750 million downloads in the first year. The game still has an active user base of 65 million people each month, is updated frequently, and has established a regular presence on the list of the 20 most lucrative apps. The game has earned an estimated $1.5 billion to $2 billion.
The video game rumor mill had suggested Niantic might be working on a Harry Potter game last year, but the company brushed it aside at the time.