Last year, almost to the day, we learned about Niantic's plans for an augmented reality Harry Potter game. Details have been few and far between over the last year, though the title was expected to release sometime in 2018. Today Niantic has finally broken its silence to release a teaser trailer for Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. We have also learned that the game has been pushed back to a 2019 release date and that there's a new website available for those of you that would like to sign up for future news about the project.

While it's nice to know that Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is still moving forward, the live-action teaser trailer linked above doesn't reveal all that much other than a link to the official website and the new 2019 release date. Luckily there are further details on that Wizards Unite site.

Please resist the urge to panic. Traces of magic are appearing across the Muggle world without warning and in a rather chaotic manner. We worry it is only a matter of time before even the most incurious Muggles catch wind of it. We call on all witches and wizards to help contain the Calamity or risk the worst of times since You Know Who. Brush up on your spells, get your wand ready, and enlist immediately.

The Ministry is looking for witches and wizards willing to roll up their sleeves and volunteer to save the wizarding world from the Calamity. As a member of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force (a new task force formed in partnership between the Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards) you will hone lightning fast wand reflexes, an ability to sniff out the faintest whiff of magical disorder from afar, and proficiency in advanced casting of multiple spells.

If you'd like more info than that, you'll have to sign up for future news by providing your email in the "Enlist Now" section of the Harry Potter: Wizards Unite website. Just be aware that you'll have to deal with further offers from Warner Brothers and its affiliates cluttering up your inbox.

I can't say that this teaser trailer doesn't feel like a marketing ploy to keep eager fans interested, because it does. But I guess that's just an uglier part of the business. More details would have been nice. Instead we received a trailer that shows nothing, an indeterminate 2019 release date, and a website with very little info other than a place to sign up for Warner Bros. spam. I honestly wish I could get excited for this game, but with Niantic's poor track record and so little info to go on, I can't help but think that Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will wind up a Pokémon GO clone with a Harry Potter skin. I hope I'm wrong.

Source: Niantic Labs