One of the biggest games of this year’s gamescom was probably Monster Hunter Wilds. It was the first time the public could try out the new title in the Capcom series. Capcom explains in an interview why it took so long for the new game to arrive.
How long has it been since Monster Hunter World? Monster Hunter World was released in 2018 and marked the start of the so-called 5th generation of Monster Hunter. Originally, World was also supposed to be called Monster Hunter 5
, but the team decided on World
back then. (via Dengeki Online)
Monster Hunter Rise, which was released in 2021 on the Switch, is more like a spin-off, just like Monster Hunter Generations is a spin-off of Monster Hunter 4. You can see this in the scale of the game. In contrast, Monster Hunter Wilds seems to signal the start of a new generation again, at least for the community (via reddit).
New mechanics, technical advancements, and the innovations shown all point in that direction. In a recent interview, Capcom also explains why we had to wait so long and what success has to do with it.
The distinctive feature from Monster Hunter Tri will definitely not return: Monster Hunter Wilds is unlikely to bring back a controversial feature because it would feel like developing an entirely new game
Popularity is to blame
Why did we have to wait so long for Monster Hunter Wilds? The DLC Iceborne for Monster Hunter World was released in 2019. Wilds is set to be released in 2025, which means there are 6 years between the two major titles. In an interview with Game Developer, the developers behind Wilds spoke about this.
The developers are asked if 5 years isn’t too long to make a game like Monster Hunter Wilds. They explain that not all developers were involved for the full 5-6 years, as many worked in the meantime on Monster Hunter Rise and the DLC Sunbreak. Still, it is quite a long time for a single title. The timing also had to do with the success since World.
The more people joined the series, the more we had to think about how to meet the needs of our users when starting a new project […] There are now so many more players, and they [possess] a broader level of skills and experience with the [series].
The interview also discusses the ecosystem and the desire to explore it further. With the open world and the relevance of weather conditions, it seems that a new step is being taken in this direction with Wilds.
When will Monster Hunter Wilds be released? A specific release date is not yet known. Only the year 2025 has been confirmed. World and Rise were both released the previous year, so an early release in 2025 does not seem unlikely. MeinMMO was also able to chat with Capcom about Monster Hunter Wilds. One question was particularly difficult: I accidentally broke the chief developer of Monster Hunter: Wilds with a question at gamescom
