NetEase and WB Games have some dreadful and abrupt news for fans of the mobile MMO Harry Potter Magic Awakened: It’s sunsetting in the west this fall.
“The time has come for Harry Potter: Magic Awakened to officially close its servers in the Americas, Europe and Oceania territories on October 29, 2024,” the companies announced this morning. “The game will continue to be available for players in Asia, including Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as other select Asia and MENA territories.”
As of today, the game has already been pulled from Apple and Google mobile stores, and the cash shop has been shut off for new purchases. NetEase says existing players can keep on playing and using existing cash-shop funds “until the servers in the Americas, Europe and Oceania territories officially close on October 29, 2024.”
No real reason for the sunset is offered (“the time has come” is not a reason), but we have to note here that the game only just launched a year ago, so it didn’t really get a lot of time to develop. Our own Fight or Kite columnist Sam was a die-hard fan of the game and wrote extensively on it, but he more than once mentioned that NetEase’s nerfs and localization neglect irritated western players.
However, he also points out that this move is oddly sudden; the team rolled out new ability cards and powers just last week, and NetEase was in the middle of a design contest. Players on social media are understandably ticked off by what appears to be temport treatment for a well-received and apparently profitable game – as well as the fact that the PC port that is available in China will now presumably never launch here.
Our condolences to the players and any developers affected by the sunset.
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