29 October Closure Looms for Harry Potter: Magic Awakened

Just over a year after its international launch, publisher Warner Brothers announced on 26 August that Harry Potter: Magic Awakened will shut down in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania on 29 October.

This collectible card game with RPG elements, developed by NetEase subsidiary Zen Studio, was initially soft-launched in China and Taiwan in September 2021 before receiving an international release in July 2023.

Available on both Android and iOS devices, the game was also ported to PC, though the desktop version was exclusively available in Asia.

Following the announcement, the game was promptly removed from the Play Store and App Store, and in-game purchases were disabled.

However, in-app purchases remain available on the Asia server, as there are currently no plans to discontinue the game in that region.

Players who have already downloaded the game can continue playing until 29 October in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania regions.

The game will remain accessible in Asian territories, including China, Macau, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, as well as other select Asia and MENA territories.

A shutdown message on magicawakened.com states:

In June 2023, Warner Bros. mentioned that it was "finalizing the development of a PC version of Harry Potter: Magic Awakened and will share more details on its release when available."

However, with the impending shutdown, those plans are now off the table.

Petition to Save Harry Potter: Magic Awakened Unlikely to Suceed

The announcement of the impending shutdown of Harry Potter: Magic Awakened in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania has sent shockwaves through the gaming community, alarming thousands of fans.

The decision not to offer refunds for in-game purchases has further fuelled the concern and frustration of these fans, many of whom have taken to social media to express their dismay.

In a show of solidarity, players of Harry Potter: Magic Awakened have begun signing a petition aimed at NetEase Games, urging the company to acquire the rights to the game and prevent its discontinuation.

As seen below by an X user.

As of the latest count, the petition has garnered 3,556 signatures, with new supporters joining the cause every moment, underscoring the passionate desire of the fanbase to keep the game alive.

Despite the growing support, the likelihood of the petition succeeding appears slim, given that the shutdown is reportedly due to the game's lack of revenue in the specified regions.

This situation has raised concerns among gamers about the wisdom of investing in new game releases, given the uncertainty surrounding their longevity.

Warner Bros. has not provided detailed reasons for the decision to discontinue Harry Potter: Magic Awakened so soon after its global release.

However, the move suggests that the game may not have met the expected revenue-making potential, a critical factor for the survival of live-service titles that is closely tied to the size and engagement of their player bases.

This discontinuation hints at challenges the game faced in the Western market, prompting a re-evaluation of its future in these regions.

Hogwarts Legacy Faring Way Better than Harry Potter: Magic Awakened

The contrast between the success of Hogwarts Legacy, hailed by Warner Bros. at the beginning of 2024 as "the best-selling game of the year in the entire industry worldwide," and the failure of Harry Potter: Magic Awakened is stark.

Warner Bros. had announced in March, following the disastrous flop of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, that it intended to shift its focus towards "mobile and multi-platform free-to-play" games, with a particular emphasis on its four core franchises: Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, DC, and Harry Potter.

Ironically, Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, a mobile and PC free-to-play game that, is being discontinued after just a year.

This turn of events underscores the unpredictable nature of the gaming industry, where even well-positioned titles can fail to meet expectations.