Facebook brings Harry Potter and the Cursed Child AR experience to Portal smart displays

Facebook announced the popular play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Curtain Call experience is now available exclusively on its smart displays in the United States and the UK. It allows Portal users and up to three friends to turn into characters from the play and simulate the magic of the show during Portal-to-Portal video calls.

The new feature can be triggered from “Curtain Call” in the effects tray on Portal. You will then be able to select one of three locations from the menu to visit during your video call: Hogwarts Great Hall, the Ministry of Magic, or the Edge of the Forbidden Forest.

When the call starts, each person will embody a character from the show and receive a unique spell that's assigned randomly. To cast your spell, simply nod your head or tap the screen. The entire experience is possible thanks to real-time skin sampling that matches the 3D character to the user's unique skin tone before converting it into an AR mask.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Curtain Call features 12 exclusive AR (augmented reality) masks of the most popular characters from the play. Those who don't have a Portal can still interact with the AR masks on Instagram and Facebook via each app's camera.