Monster Hunter Wilds producer Ryozo Tsujimoto has acknowledged the importance of the PC platform, and why crossplay will be included in the game.
“Yeah, there are more players than ever playing on PC, including in Japan,” Tsujimoto told GamesRadar, “so we definitely see room for the series to capture new players who haven’t tried it before if that’s their chosen platform.”
Crossplay between PC and console players has been included in Monster Hunter Wilds so that “the choice is yours on which platform you want to play with, and then [you can just] go online and hunt with your friends”.
This is also likely a reason Capcom released the Monster Hunter Wilds PC benchmark tool, so players can test their system ahead of release.
The huge audience for the game is apparent when looking at SteamDB. The beta for Monster Hunter Wilds reached a concurrent player peak of 463,798, while Monster Hunter World reached 334,684, and Monster Hunter Rise reached 231,360.
For comparison, the beta test’s peak is higher than the likes of Helldivers 2, Among Us, and Grand Theft Auto 5.
Speaking of GTA, Take-Two CEO boss Strauss Zelnick recently discussed the presumed PC release of GTA 6, noting that historically “Rockstar has started with some platforms and then historically moved to other platforms”.
“We have seen PC become a much more important part of what used to be a console business, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see that trend continue,” he added.
Square Enix is also working on an “aggressive” multiplatform strategy, releasing its biggest games on PC following PS5 exclusivity, further highlighting the importance of PC for Japanese companies. Both Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Final Fantasy 16 are now available on PC.
In another interview, with PCGamesN, Monster Hunter Wilds director Yuya Tokuda discussed the possibility of adding a fifteenth weapon type to the game.
“When we start development of games such as World and, recently, Wilds, we always consider whether or not this is the time to add another weapon type,” Tokuda said. “It’s not off the table for any particular reason, it’s just that we never really decided that we wanted to for the recent titles.”
After all the tweaks and changes made to the existing 14 weapons in Wilds, it’s tough to find “a 15th weapon that would actually have a place in that lineup and feel equally as valid as the other weapon types while also not overlapping with them too much”.
Monster Hunter Wilds is set for release on 28th February across PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Eurogamer’s Jim Trinca went hands-on with Monster Hunter Wilds recently and while this series entry is more approachable, it still has its quirks.
“For the MonHun-curious consumer, I recommend caution,” he wrote. “The FOMO is real here: Monster Hunter is just one of those things that inspires fandom envy. The people who love it do so vocally and passionately and with an infectious enthusiasm rarely seen elsewhere. But as much as Wilds is eager to roll over and present its tummy to you, it is still a Monster Hunter game, and therefore as marmitey as marmite games come.”
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