Remember how Niantic recently shut down Catan: World Explorers? Well, it’s happening again, and this time to Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, on January 31st, 2022. The news isn’t entirely unexpected, as during the company’s Sustainability Campaign in April, Wizards Unite was the only live product not given any bonuses; its official page had no mention of updates since December 2020, and player have long complained of complicated game mechanics and long-standing bug issues.
For players who choose to ride out the end, Niantic is offering a slew of bonuses, such as increased rewards from Dailies, unlimited sending and receiving of gifts, extra ingredient spawns, new events, and more. After January 31st, the game will no longer appear on the app stores or be playable. The game’s forums will also shut down.
Those who are tired of Niantic may wish to try turn-based MMOARG Orna, or if you’re willing to put up with ads and dinosaurs, Jurassic World: Alive. If you were hoping for more from The Witcher: Monster Slayer, we’re awaiting an announcement today, but the community isn’t expecting much. Some players are suggesting Pikmin Bloom, but it’s unclear whether it will grip the community the same way Wizards Unite did.
11/2 Update: Niantic has released a second blog post stating that the game plan was to develop “a two-year narrative story arc” that’s about to complete, and that “not all games are meant to last forever.” The company has nine more apps and games in the pipeline, but we should note that the company has stopped production on three of its six products (or three of seven, if you include the announced Endgame: Proving Grounds that’s apparently vaporware).
