<s>
Harry	B-Application
Potter	I-Application
:	I-Application
Wizards	I-Application
Unite	I-Application
was	O
an	O
augmented	B-General_Concept
reality	I-General_Concept
(	O
AR	O
)	O
mobile	B-Application
game	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
Niantic	O
and	O
WB	O
Games	O
San	O
Francisco	O
,	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Niantic	O
,	O
under	O
license	O
from	O
Portkey	O
Games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wizards	B-Application
Unite	I-Application
begins	O
as	O
the	O
player	O
creates	O
their	O
avatar	B-Application
and	O
starts	O
their	O
journey	O
at	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
real	O
world	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
Wizards	B-Application
Unite	I-Application
commenced	O
in	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
launched	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
iOS	B-Application
mobile	O
devices	O
on	O
June	O
20	O
,	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Harry	B-Application
Potter	I-Application
:	I-Application
Wizards	I-Application
Unite	I-Application
gameplay	O
has	O
been	O
described	O
as	O
similar	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
Pokémon	B-Application
Go	I-Application
,	O
with	O
players	O
able	O
to	O
view	O
the	O
gameplay	O
world	O
through	O
a	O
smartphone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
creating	O
a	O
game	O
account	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
makes	O
an	O
avatar	B-Application
,	O
whose	O
location	O
depends	O
on	O
the	O
device	O
's	O
geographical	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
player	O
moves	O
within	O
their	O
real-world	O
surroundings	O
,	O
their	O
avatar	B-Application
moves	O
within	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
map	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2020	O
,	O
Wizards	B-Application
Unite	I-Application
introduced	O
the	O
Knight	O
Bus	O
which	O
allows	O
players	O
to	O
participate	O
in	O
magical	O
challenges	O
in	O
virtual	O
fortresses	O
regardless	O
of	O
their	O
physical	O
location	O
,	O
an	O
answer	O
to	O
the	O
worldwide	O
lockdowns	O
during	O
the	O
COVID-19	O
pandemic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
Harry	B-Application
Potter	I-Application
:	I-Application
Wizards	I-Application
Unite	I-Application
commenced	O
in	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
officially	O
announced	O
on	O
November	O
8	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
as	O
an	O
augmented	B-General_Concept
reality	I-General_Concept
mobile	B-Application
game	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
Niantic	O
and	O
WB	O
Games	O
San	O
Francisco	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
former	O
also	O
acting	O
as	O
the	O
publisher	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
Niantic	O
's	O
purchase	O
of	O
Escher	O
Reality	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
expected	O
to	O
implement	O
new	O
technology	O
to	O
allow	O
for	O
persistent	B-Protocol
worlds	I-Protocol
within	O
AR	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
March	O
11	O
,	O
2019	O
,	O
pre-registration	O
on	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
opened	O
for	O
the	O
app	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
new	O
in-game	O
footage	O
was	O
released	O
by	O
Niantic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
several	O
hours	O
later	O
,	O
Niantic	O
confirmed	O
it	O
was	O
another	O
mistake	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
taken	O
down	O
from	O
the	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
review	O
aggregator	O
Metacritic	O
,	O
Harry	B-Application
Potter	I-Application
:	I-Application
Wizards	I-Application
Unite	I-Application
received	O
"	O
mixed	O
or	O
average	O
"	O
reviews	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
15	O
reviews	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
