Capcom announced that Monster Hunter World has sold more than 7.5 million copies to retailers worldwide on PS4 and Xbox One. This makes the action RPG the best-selling title of all time for Capcom.
On Capcom’s official website, it has been announced that Monster Hunter World has now sold more than 7.5 million copies. This includes digital sales. This makes Monster Hunter World the most successful title in Capcom’s history. Overall, the “Monster Hunter” series has now sold 48 million copies.
Capcom aimed to conquer the world with Monster Hunter World. This endeavor seems to have succeeded.
Monster Hunter World is the first main entry for home consoles in 9 years
In Capcom’s press release, it states:
“Monster Hunter World is the latest title in the series and the first new Monster Hunter game for home consoles in nine years. It is also the first title in the series to be launched globally at the same time and received an ambitious worldwide marketing campaign to further expand its fan base both in Japan and overseas markets.”
Before Monster Hunter World, the titles in the franchise were mostly released only on handheld consoles like the Nintendo 3DS. These were very popular in Japan, while they reached a niche audience in the West. Monster Hunter has long been one of the most successful game series in Japan for this reason. Nearly 80% of sales before Monster Hunter World occurred only in Japan.
It was an important step for Capcom to release Monster Hunter World on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to establish the title outside of Japan. These home consoles are found in many gaming households worldwide and appeal to a broader audience than handheld consoles. Capcom is likely to gain a good momentum when Monster Hunter World comes to PC in the autumn.
However, Capcom did more than just release on home consoles to achieve this success.
The global release was prepared by Capcom during development
The release on home consoles was certainly the foundation for making Monster Hunter World successful worldwide. However, Capcom took several additional steps even before the release to make Monster Hunter World successful.
“Quality of Life” adjustments: Mechanics have been modernized
Capcom specifically geared Monster Hunter World towards the global market during development. Several mechanics have been modernized and made more comfortable, which could be considered cumbersome in older installments of the franchise.
- For instance, Monster Hunter World features seamless open world maps, allowing hunters to move uninterrupted from area to area.
- Similarly, Scoutflies were introduced. These are small insects that guide hunters to target objects, reducing aimless wandering on the map.
- There is also a training room now where hunters can practice with the 14 weapon classes before heading out for the hunt.
- A fast and action-packed tutorial has been developed, where players learn the first steps and are thrown right into the action.
“Quality of Life” adjustments like the ones mentioned above facilitate entry into the game and made Monster Hunter World more accessible.
Capturing the zeitgeist: Multiplayer features have been enhanced
Multiplayer games with a “Games-as-a-Service” approach match the modern gamer zeitgeist. Although Monster Hunter World is not a full-fledged games-as-a-service title, Capcom has recognized this trend as well.
The multiplayer features have been deepened and expanded in Monster Hunter World:
- There is a player search function
- New global servers ensure that players can play together worldwide.
- The search function includes a language filter.If you use the filter, you only encounter players who speak the selected language.
- With a new online drop-in mode players can join an ongoing quest at any time.
- There are hunting groups that allow up to 50 players and function like guilds
Capcom brought a strong partner onboard with Sony
For a long time, the “Monster Hunter” series was exclusive to Nintendo. The franchise was primarily released on the Nintendo 3DS and WiiU. However, for Monster Hunter World, Sony and Capcom entered into a partnership.
According to a leak, Sony and Capcom even made a deal to prevent a release on Nintendo Switch. A considerable amount of money reportedly flowed to Capcom. However, these are unconfirmed rumors.
Even though Switch is catching up, the PS4 has long been the most powerful home console on the market.
Sony also helped to “push” Monster Hunter World further in the West. This resulted in exclusive content, such as Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn as an armor set for hunters.
Free betas that excited and intrigued players
Shortly before release, Capcom offered players exclusive and free betas of Monster Hunter World on PS4. These were the perfect appetizer to convince many players.
The betas conveyed the game feel of Monster Hunter World and provided testers with somewhat better equipment. Capcom likely wanted to show where the journey could lead. The monsters were somewhat toned down here and had fewer move sets than later in the full version. This created a positive feeling about the game for many.
The training room was also available in the beta, allowing players to really get into it with all 14 weapon classes and get a taste for the game.
The Monster Hunter World beta was overall received positively by testers, which only increased curiosity for more.
The public was continuously fed with information bites
Capcom pursued a media-effective strategy and continually fed the public with new info. Since the big announcement at E3, there have been well-staged trailers showcasing new monsters and maps or snippets of the story.
As a result, Monster Hunter World stayed in people’s minds and a real hype around the game was created. The sophisticated ecosystem, where animals follow a logical food chain, consistently took center stage.
Monster Hunter World received positive word-of-mouth from veterans
In addition to the internal preparations for the global release, there were also some external influences that certainly contributed to the success of Monster Hunter World. Even though the franchise remained a niche title outside of Japan, it formed a loyal and passionate fan base even outside Japan.
It was observed, even here on Mein-MMO, that veteran players repeatedly spoke positively. When newcomers were hesitant about the purchase, veterans tried to alleviate their concerns. Many were simply enthusiastic about the franchise with its hard monster battles.
Initiatives like the “Adopt-a-Hunter” program show that veterans wanted to guide as many new players as possible into the franchise.
The press was overflowing with positive reviews
Just in time for the release of Monster Hunter World, the first test reports about the action RPG appeared. Monster Hunter World received top ratings across the board and achieved a Meta score of 91 on PlayStation 4.
With these ratings, many players could hardly ignore the title and quickly picked it up themselves.
Monster Hunter World is simply a good game
Leya says: In the end, one must simply say that Monster Hunter World is a good game. Although there are always problems in multiplayer, and it is complicatedly structured. So complicated that we even published a detailed guide to multiplayer. Performance issues cannot be denied. However, these are bearable for what else is offered in Monster Hunter World.
It is understandable why Monster Hunter World has been such a hit worldwide. Capcom has thought through and prepared the release well, but has also intelligently adapted the game to the modern gamer.
What do you think about Capcom’s success with Monster Hunter World?
One month after release – Here’s everything that has happened in Monster Hunter World.
