Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Mobile Game From Pokemon Go Makers Is Out Now For Free

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite has expanded once again, and it's now officially available in both the United States and United Kingdom. The Harry Potter-themed free-to-play mobile game was scheduled to launch in both markets today, June 21, but it arrived ahead of time on Thursday. This follows its release earlier this year in both Australia and New Zealand, which is often the case with mobile games such as this. Regardless, if you're in any of the available regions, you can now download the game on iOS devices (App Store), Android (Google Play), and Samsung devices (Samsung's Galaxy store).

The mobile game was developed by Pokemon Go maker Niantic and revolves around a similar style of augmented reality-based gameplay where you navigate the real-world and collect things. As such, it requires an internet connection, and some players have reported intermittent issues throughout the day on Thursday; if you can't get in, keep trying. Elsewhere in the world, you'll just have to keep waiting--Niantic has not yet announced when the game will be available in countries outside the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

Like the aforementioned AR game Pokemon Go--which it bears numerous similarities to--Wizards Unite is free to download and features optional microtransactions. You can spend money to purchase Gold, which can then be used to buy in-game items such as potions, Dark Detectors (which reveal special items), Runestones (which are required for Wizarding Challenges), and more. You'll also have to deal with needing more spell energy, which works almost like Poke Balls.

• The Pokemon Go Player's Guide To Harry Potter: Wizards Unite

The story of Wizards Unite revolves around an event known as the Calamity, which has caused Foundables--people, creatures, and artifacts from the Wizarding World--to appear in the Muggle World, thereby risking their discovery. Moreover, these Foundables are sealed by Confoundable magic. As a member of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force, it is your mission to break these Counfoundable spells and retrieve the Foundables. You'll interact with Harry Potter and other familiar faces and complete tasks that involve navigating the real-world--though for the time being you'll unfortunately need to keep your game open while playing.

We recently went hands-on with Harry Potter: Wizards Unite thought it felt very much like a Harry Potter version of Pokemon Go, albeit with more content from the outset. Right from the start, the game offers a variety of quest objectives to complete, and you can add other players to your friends list (a feature that didn't come to Pokemon Go until years after its launch). The game also features an RPG-style Profession system that allows you to unlock abilities in skill trees. If you're diving into the game and are familiar with Niantic's previous work, check out our Wizards Unite guide for Pokemon Go players.

If you haven't tried it out for yourself, you can check out some new gameplay below.