Raise Your Wands: “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite” Closes Today

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Last November, developer Niantic confirmed that Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will officially shut down on January 31, and today is the day. Many witches and wizards from different parts of the world may have already said goodbye to the virtual wizarding world, but most of us in the United States have a few hours left.

While we had already known that Wizards Unite would end on January 31, we didn’t yet know at what time the servers would close. A few weeks ago, it was confirmed that the game would shut down at 12:01 a.m. local time on January 31, which means that as Sunday ends and Monday begins, you will not be able to reopen Wizards Unite anymore.

At the moment, we should still be in the midst of the last event, called Emergency and Severe Spotlight Spectacle. As the name suggests, the event brings “an epic surge of Emergency and Severe traces” on the map. For the most part, the entire month was meant to assist players in completing any unfinished business before the server closed down for good.

However, Niantic confirmed that the month’s events were not finalized and that it would continue to take player feedback and adjust as necessary. Though no official announcements were made, the developer stayed true to its word and did discretely continue adding various bonuses throughout the last few weeks, as reported by a couple of Wizards Unite fan pages.

Earlier in the month, it was discovered that there were guaranteed rewards for completing challenges in all Fortress Chambers, which is notable considering that past events limited guaranteed Foundables to specific Chambers.

Guaranteed Fortress rewards in ALL Chambers!!! This is a bonus I’ve requested repeatedly, and it’s now been implemented in the game. Earn those missing Fragments! #WizardsUnite

— Wizards Unite Hub (@hpwuhub) January 12, 2022

Over the last week, Niantic started implementing some last-minute bonuses in hopes of accelerating players’ progress. It seems that one of those things was increasing the rate of Wizarding XP gained after using Baruffio’s Brain Elixir. Normally, the consumable doubles the amount of Wizarding XP, but it was found that the elixir started to quintuple your XP.

Brain Elixirs are giving 10x Wizarding XP! #WizardsUnite pic.twitter.com/7wmiwbnu3F

— Witches Unite 💖⚡ (@HPwitchesunite) January 26, 2022

Though the Dragon Oddities event ended earlier this month, it was soon discovered that the Dragons and Dragon Key Portkeys returned in the final days.

Dragons and Dragon Egg Portkeys are back! #WizardsUnite

— Wizards Unite Hub (@hpwuhub) January 26, 2022

Since Niantic never officially announced any of these additions, it’s possible that the developer added much more that were never reported online. If you noticed any during your last playthrough, be sure to let us know.

During these last few remaining hours of the game, witches and wizards are still rushing to complete everything while likely repressing any emotions involved in having to say goodbye to their mobile wizarding world. Just a couple of days ago, Niantic took to the official Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Twitter for the last time to say goodbye. In the tweet, the developer reconfirmed the time the game would close and provided a heartfelt note of gratitude.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will officially close at 12:01 a.m. local time on Jan. 31, 2022. We sincerely thank all of our fans who have enjoyed the game. pic.twitter.com/WFvMlNcgpl

— Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (@HPWizardsUnite) January 28, 2022

Wizards Unite may have simply been a video game meant to generate revenue, but it seems that there was a genuine attempt to bring people together, which is likely why Niantic Social was implemented recently. Just as the title implied, the game was able to unite witches and wizards from all over the world. So while it’s unfortunate that the game will no longer be there for us to enjoy, it’s best to be thankful for all the friends that you’ve met and all the memories that you’ve made during your time in the virtual wizarding world.

Are you sad to see Harry Potter: Wizards Unite end? Do you have any fond memories from playing the game? Let us know in the comments.