What you need to know
- The Harry Potter franchise is a massive ordeal that has seen a plethora of games and spin-off releases.
- On Thursday, Warner Bros. Games and NetEase announced the latest title — the free-to-play Harry Potter: Magic Awakened.
- Harry Potter: Magic Awakened combines MMORPG and collectible card game elements into one massive game.
- First released in select Asian markets in late 2021, players in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania can now pre-register to play.
Harry Potter is a complicated and long-running franchise, one that still captivates millions of people all around the world. Companies are always looking for new ways to capitalize on the Harry Potter brand, and the latest effort comes from Warner Bros. Games and NetEase. On Thursday, they announced the global rollout of their latest title — Harry Potter: Magic Awakened.
Harry Potter: Magic Awakened is equal parts massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) and collectible card game (CCG), and is a free-to-play mobile game bound for Android and iOS platforms. The game was already released in select Asian markets — like China — in Sept. 2021, and has enjoyed bountiful success. Now, the game is preparing for a global release throughout 2022.
In Magic Awakened, set 10 years after the events of the mainline Harry Potter books, players will attend Hogwarts with new and familiar characters. You'll be able to attend classes, participate in duels, play Quidditch, explore several world locations like Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, and more. All of this revolves around an original story, which apparently evolves as you move through school years.
There's a focus on collecting spells and abilities through cards, with ways to customize your deck and progressively become more powerful. You can join guilds with other players to tackle more difficult challenges and stories, and duel against other players. There seems to be a lot of content packed into Harry Potter: Magic Awakened for a free-to-play mobile game.
The news of Harry Potter: Magic Awakened's global launch comes not long after Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, another Harry Potter mobile game, fully shut down.
If you're interested in Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, it's coming first to the Americas, Europe, and Oceania, with other Asian markets to follow next. Players can now pre-register on Android to be among the first to play from the Google Play Store or the Harry Potter: Magic Awakened website. iOS pre-registers will come later. An exact release date isn't known, but the game is targeting a broad 2022 window for its worldwide launch.
It's still too early to tell, but if Harry Potter: Magic Awakened balances its bevy of gameplay features and content with its inevitable free-to-play revenue stream, it could be one of the best Android games for fans of the franchise. You can check out more images of the upcoming title below.
