Highlights

  • The Monster Hunter series is thriving with upcoming releases like Monster Hunter Wilds, the mobile game Monster Hunter Now, and successful titles like Monster Hunter World.
  • Post-launch support for MH Wilds may be limited, but Monster Hunter World could step in with its established live-service elements to keep fans engaged.

Monster Hunter is currently sitting at the top of its game. Its next major entry, Monster Hunter Wilds, was announced for a 2025 launch, Monster Hunter Now was recently released on mobile, Monster Hunter Rise and its expansion Sunbreak have finished their updates, and Monster Hunter World and Iceborne are doing better than ever. In fact, Monster Hunter World itself has become the single highest-selling game in Capcom’s history at a staggering 25 million units as of March 2024. Even with Monster Hunter Wilds on the way, the hype for Monster Hunter World has not died.

The fifth Monster Hunter generation that began with World in 2018 has brought in countless new players to Capcom’s once-experimental action-RPG franchise. While that doesn't necessarily mean MH World has stayed their favorite entry, what it has done for the IP can't be understated. Monster Hunter Wilds seems intended to capitalize on World’s success, but the amount of changes it's poised to make to the series’ gameplay, format, and potential content rollout means it’s already gambling on that success. For that reason, Capcom shouldn't ignore the fallback plan it already has on hand.

Monster Hunter Wilds Irony Could Help Make an Incredible Game
Related
A Bit of Irony Could Help Make Monster Hunter Wilds an Incredible Game

Expectations for Monster Hunter Wilds will be high, but fulfilling the promise of one of its predecessors should help it exceed them.

Why Monster Hunter Wilds May Leave Monster Hunter's Status Quo Behind

What little has been shown of Monster Hunter Wilds suggests that it is pulling the focus of Monster Hunter’s regular hunting gameplay even further out than Monster Hunter World did. An open world environment in MH Wilds has not been confirmed yet, but the vista at the end of its reveal trailer suggests it is a possibility. Monster Hunter’s focus on fighting large beasts in defined arenas should still be present, but traversal via a new multipurpose mount and tracking over longer distances could add a sense of realistic hunting to Wilds’ gameplay loop.

Post-Launch Support For Monster Hunter Wilds Might Be Limited

Depending on how this increased scope is handled, Monster Hunter Wilds may break several series traditions. For one, this may be the only release that MH Wilds gets, lacking the traditional Iceborne and Sunbreak-style G-Rank expansion. One of those implies a new map, and while MH Wilds could still give strong monsters like Fatalis their own arenas for endgame quests, an entire new pseudo-open world zone with its own ecosystem may be too much.

As a consequence, post-launch updates may also be deemphasized in Monster Hunter Wilds. Cosmetic crossovers will likely remain, but with no expansion on the table, adding multiple new large monsters in patches like World and Rise did feels similarly unlikely.

How Monster Hunter World Can Play Support For MH Wilds

All of that would be an intense break from the traditions Monster Hunter has upheld to this point, but if they do happen, another game can step in to soften the blow. With plenty of post-launch updates for themselves and their expansions, on top of constantly rotating events and even large-scale cosmetic changes for their hubs, Monster Hunter World and Rise have a good handle on their live-service elements.

If the vision for Monster Hunter Wilds ’ content doesn't mesh with a long-lasting update cycle, then those games, especially Monster Hunter World , can resume their own.

Returning To Monster Hunter World Could Take Many Forms

Monster Hunter World would be especially adept at doing this, as its best-in-franchise sales mean it already has an install base eager to jump into new content. The live-service elements feeding into Monster Hunter World would need to be distinct and spaced out from Monster Hunter Wilds’ efforts, but they shouldn't last for longer than one year.

After that, MH World could either get a Rise-fueled expansion, native ports to the latest console generation, a new content roadmap punctuated by redesigned hubs, or any combination of those to return to prominence. Having Monster Hunter World running alongside Monster Hunter Wilds would be a shocking development for the esteemed hunting series, but could work out great in the long run.