Harry Potter: Magic Awakened Closes Down a Year After Launch — and Fans Are Less Than Impressed

Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself.

Warner Bros. Games has announced the closure of mobile game Harry Potter: Magic Awakened just over a year after its global launch.

Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, a collectible card role-playing game developed by Zen Studio, launched in the west in June 2023 courtesy of Warner Bros. Games’ Portkey Games publishing label. In the game you play as a new student at Hogwarts and collect cards you deploy as spells in duels.

Harry Potter: Magic Awakened was removed from the iOS App Store and Google Play Store on August 26, with servers running until October 29, 2024. It is now no no longer possible to make in-game purchases.

Its Asian release was handled by Chinese games company NetEase, currently in the headlines for reportedly shutting down the Visions of Mana developer, Ouka Studios. Despite its shutdown in the west, Harry Potter: Magic Awakened will remain available to play in Asia.

“We have shared the magical journey of Harry Potter: Magic Awakened with millions of fans around the globe,” Warner Bros. said in a statement published to its support website.

“The time has come for Harry Potter: Magic Awakened to officially close its servers in the Americas, Europe and Oceania territories on October 29, 2024. The game will continue to be available for players in Asia, including Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as other select Asia and MENA territories.

“We’d like to thank those in the Americas, Europe and Oceania for playing, and are incredibly proud and honored that so many fans all around the world have enjoyed Harry Potter: Magic Awakened with such enthusiasm and passion.”

Already players have expressed their disappointment in the news, asked for refunds, and called on Warner Bros. to allow NetEase to publish the game in the west or enable the transfer of servers. Warner Bros. ruled out server transfers and refunds in an FAQ, and declined to comment when contacted by IGN on the possibility of NetEase taking on the game in the west.

It’s worth noting that the closure of Harry Potter: Magic Awakened comes ahead of the launch of Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, a new game based on the fictional sport. That’s out on September 3 across PC and console.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.