Summary
Welcome to our live blog of the exclusive Wizards Unite event being held today (Tuesday, June 18) at Universal Studios Hollywood! We’ll be onsite at the park and updating throughout the day, so check back soon. The event is scheduled to start at 4:30pm Pacific Time.
Here’s what we’ve found out so far:
- Worldwide release confirmed! Friday, June 21st.
- A GO Fest-like event is planned for Wizards a Unite later this year
- POIs are live on the map in Los Angeles! We have seen reports as far as 25 miles away from the park.
- There are currently no Traces live in the game here
- All POI interactions (visiting Greenhouses and Inns, or entering a Fortress lobby) currently start a 90-hour cooldown.
POIs Live!
2:16pm PT: Fortresses, Greenhouses, and Inns are now all appearing on the map in Los Angeles! We have seen reports of them appearing as far as 25 miles away from Universal Studios and managed to grab a photo on the way over to the park. (This is showing up sideways on some screens right now, sorry!) All interactions (visiting Inns and Greenhouses and entering Fortress lobbies) are locked behind a 90 hour cooldown starting from the time you interact with the POI. In other words, you can visit Inns and Greenhouses once per location, and Fortresses are all effectively locked. There are currently no Traces appearing on the map. Basically, there is more to see, but not anything to do just yet.
Waiting for the Start
4:36pm: I’m live on site at Universal, just waiting for the event to start. There are tons of media here! Here are a few photos of outside the event venue. No live footage of the event is being allowed.
Starting Now!
5:10pm: The Event is now starting! They just made an announcement reminding everyone that no footage, including over the shoulder shots, is allowed during the event. Now playing a trailer.
5:14pm: John Hanke just took the stage.
5:26pm: We have a date! This Friday, 21 June! Also there are plans for a Go Fest like event for Wizards Unite later this year! Stay tuned for details!
Release Date Confirmed
5:45pm: It’s official! Global release is set to begin this Friday, June 21st!
6:07pm: Clarification: the release will start with the US and the UK on the 21st, with more countries to follow. They are likely planning to watch the servers and release more as each country’s servers stabilise.
The worldwide launch of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite begins this Friday, June 21! Keep your eyes peeled and wand ready for more information as the game goes live in your region soon. #WizardsUnite pic.twitter.com/ckk4s4mi8a
— Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (@HPWizardsUnite) June 19, 2019
Playtesting the Game
6:28pm: Invitees have been given a beta version of the game to play in the park. The game looks great. Loading is pretty slow right now, but that may be the service in the park. Players with the APK still cannot access any Traces, so only those explicitly given access can actually do anything in-game.
Good Night, Witches and Wizards
That’s it for now, witches and wizards! I’m exhausted and going to get some rest, but we’ll have a recap of all of today’s news in the morning, plus a quick overview of all of the gameplay I was able to test while there.
