WB Games and Chinese developer NetEase will be sunsetting their free-to-play, immersive mobile game Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (pictured) in major Western markets.
While the game was removed from app stores in the Americas, Europe and Oceania territories this week, those who have already downloaded it will be able to continue playing until its servers officially shut down on October 29.
Magic Awakened features RPG, MMO (massively multiplayer) and collectible card gameplay in a Wizard World-inspired premise that lets players attend Hogwarts as wizards/witches and learn to cast spells by using special cards.
Co-developed and co-published by WB Games and NetEase, the title originally rolled out in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan in September 2021. It was a top-ranker in local app stores and had generated revenue of more than US$228 million by November 2021, according to analytics platform Sensor Tower. The game later rolled out worldwide in 2023, around the same time that WB Games’ acclaimed Hogwarts Legacy game hit the market and broke records by selling 12 million-plus copies and generating US$850 million in sales revenue in its first two weeks.
While the companies didn’t cite a specific reason for the closure, they indicated that NetEase’s publishing territories won’t be impacted. Magic Awakened will remain available in Asian markets where it originally launched and in select parts of MENA. While it’s likely that the global performance did not meet revenue expectations, more than 3,000 fans have signed a petition urging NetEase to acquire the servers and continue supporting the game worldwide.
In related news, NetEase and Chinese conglom Tencent are reportedly looking to shutter Tokyo-based developer Ouka Studios as per a new Bloomberg report, which noted that the companies are potentially scaling back on their expansion plans and investments in Japanese studios.