‘Harry Potter: Wizards Unite’ had a sluggish opening weekend, showing the game does not yet possess the magic of ‘Pokémon Go’

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harry potter wizards uniteMatt Weinberger/Business Insider

  • Niantic’s "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite" had a sluggish opening weekend compared to predecessor "Pokémon Go."
  • App analysis site Sensor Tower reports "Wizards Unite" was downloaded by 3 million people, and players spent $1.1 million.
  • "Pokémon Go" was downloaded 24 million times on its opening weekend and players spent more than $28 million.
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The opening weekend for "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite," the phone game from the makers of "Pokémon Go," has been a damp squib compared to its predecessor.

"Harry Potter: Wizards Unite" was released on Friday by Niantic, and much like "Pokémon: Go" it uses AR to project characters and creatures from the world of "Harry Potter" into the real world using the phone’s camera. Both games are free to play, but players can purchase things in-app.

Read more: I got to try "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite," the new game from the creators of "Pokémon Go," before it came out, and I can already tell it’s going to be huge

According to data from app-monitoring site Sensor Tower, "Wizards Unite" was installed by 3 million players on its first weekend, and took in $1.1 million in player spending — although Sensor Tower noted the game is not yet out in South Korea and Japan.

By comparison, "Pokémon Go" garnered 24 million installs from the US, Australia, and New Zealand over its first four days — eight times the size of "Wizards Unite" — and pulled down more than $28 million in player spending.

So although "Wizards Unite" is top of iPhone downloads in 28 countries, its early success pales in comparison to "Pokémon Go," and according to Sensor Tower its prospects for the month aren’t much sunnier. The site projects the game will generate $10 million, whereas "Pokémon: Go" made $206 million.

Jam City’s "Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery" also performed better than "Wizards Unite" on its opening weekend, taking in nearly $7 million from players, according to Sensor Tower.

Business Insider contacted Niantic for comment. 

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SEE ALSO: The CEO behind ‘Harry Potter: Wizards Unite’ explains what Niantic learned from ‘Pokémon Go’ to make this new game great

Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Isobel Asher Hamilton)

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