Exactly one month ago, Wizards Unite was released. How is the new AR game from Niantic doing currently? Our author Noah takes a look at the situation.
This is how it looks for Wizards Unite: On June 21, Wizards Unite was launched in the app stores in the USA and the UK. The following day, Germany followed. Now a month has passed, and one can get a good picture of the situation.
Who plays Wizards Unite and what do the developers offer? What do the wizards say about their game, and how successful was the release?
What about the players in Wizards Unite?
What do the player numbers say? In the app stores, one can clearly see how many players have downloaded the app so far, and the rating system there offers a first overview of the popularity of Wizards Unite:
- In the Play Store (Android), over 5 million users have downloaded the game
- A total of 4.1 stars have been awarded based on over 220,000 reviews
- In the Apple Store, 6,500 players rated it 4.4 out of 5 stars in total. There are no data on player numbers here
Compared to its big brother Pokémon GO, Wizards Unite clearly performs worse. Just in the USA, Pokémon GO had 7.5 million downloads on the release day. It was thus stronger in just one country and even on the first day than Wizards Unite after a month.
However, when looking at Wizards Unite without the shadow of Pokémon GO, 5 million downloads after a month is definitely not bad.
Who plays Wizards Unite at all? Wizards Unite is especially popular among Harry Potter fans. This is definitely where the largest player percentage can be found.
It is also popular among players looking for a change from Pokémon GO. It has been a bit quieter in recent weeks, and one could let off steam in Wizards Unite.
Was there a big hype? The hype surrounding the game has not materialized. While many people noticed that Wizards Unite is now out, it was nothing new anymore. The basic game principle was already known from Pokémon GO.
When one looks at the streets now, one tends to encounter more Pokémon GO players than fans of Wizards Unite.
The majority of communities consist of players who also play Pokémon GO. Only a few new players have joined.
Is Wizards Unite not well received?
What do the reviews say? Wizards Unite is definitely not a flop. Many critics and also players praise the design and the variety of tasks in Wizards Unite.
Here lies the problem: Wizards Unite is simply overshadowed by Pokémon GO and cannot quite free itself from it. There are comparisons everywhere, which is quite understandable, as there are many similar principles.
Since its release in 2016, Pokémon GO has dominated the AR game market and is hard to displace. If someone is into AR games, they have already found their match with Pokémon GO. Why would they abandon this game and start something else?
It is mainly the dilemma of many players that prevents Wizards Unite from becoming too popular. They want to try it out, but they also don’t want to neglect their account in Pokémon GO.
What can be praised: Those who experienced the beginning of Pokémon GO will also have noticed how overloaded the servers were in the first days and how many bugs there were.
This is hardly the case with Wizards Unite. The servers hold up well, and only a few bugs are known.
What is currently happening with Wizards Unite? This Saturday, the first Community Day in Wizards Unite took place. Here, players had some problems, but the developers show that they have many ideas for the game.
Moreover, the first events in the game have already taken place. Some findable items were more frequently available, and the first bonuses have been distributed. Here, Wizards Unite scores points, as new content is available right at the start of the game.
What’s next for Wizards Unite? It remains to be seen whether the game can actually manage to attract some Pokémon GO players in the long term, or if they will disappear when Wizards Unite is not new anymore.
There will also be events in the future. It can likely be expected that there will be a Community Day in August as well, and further events featuring rare findable items won’t take long to arrive.
Are you still looking for tips on Wizards Unite? Then take a look here:
