The Monster Hunter Series: A 20-Year Legacy of Cooperative Play and Monster-Slaying Fun
The ‘Monster Hunter’ series has shipped more than 108 million units since its first release on the PlayStation 2, making it a second tentpole franchise for Japanese publisher Capcom alongside the ‘Resident Evil’ zombie saga.
Co-op is the Heart of the Series
Co-op is "really the heart of the series and at the core of its DNA," said the game’s director Yuya Tokuda. The series’ success is built on cooperative play to take down dragons and other spectacularly-rendered creatures.
New Installment, Same Excitement
The latest installment, "Monster Hunter Wilds," is set to launch on PC and consoles from Friday. The game’s creators hope it will still find new audiences, even after seven years since the last major instalment.
Seamless Play and Monster-Haunted Open World
"Wilds" is the first "Monster Hunter" instalment built for latest-generation consoles. Ryozo Tsujimoto, the series’ 50-something long-time producer, says this will allow for "even more seamless" play, with no loading screens between players’ base camp and the monster-haunted open world beyond.
Challenges in Populating the Environment
Even on more powerful machines, it was "really quite difficult" to populate the environment with the huge numbers of monsters and other creatures that the developers wanted, Tsujimoto added. There were "lots of programming challenges and also hardware challenges," he said.
Stoking the Hype
The series has taken time to win popularity outside Japan, but with the latest instalment, the creators hope to attract new audiences. The game’s director, Yuya Tokuda, said, "Rather than feeling pressure… it’s actually more of a useful chance for us to see the players’ reactions and also get data about what it is we should be working on."
Broadening Reach
"Monster Hunter" has also benefited from vastly more players able to join in online with high-quality connections. "Breaking down each of those barriers… is what finally brought us out of niche status in the West and into a global blockbuster," Tsujimoto said.
Looking to the Future
Despite a relative flop with the first film set in the universe of the games, released in 2020, the series’ producer, Ryozo Tsujimoto, says "image licensing" is "something we’re always considering as being on the table." He is "always thinking of ways to expand the series around the world", including to "people who don’t play games", he said.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Will "Monster Hunter Wilds" be available for the Nintendo Switch 2 console?
A: The game’s creators did not comment on the availability of "Wilds" for the Nintendo Switch 2 console, set for release later this year.
Q: What is the future of the "Monster Hunter" series?
A: The game’s director, Yuya Tokuda, said, "we do still have plenty of monster ideas up our sleeves."
Q: How will the series continue to evolve?
A: The series’ producer, Ryozo Tsujimoto, said, "we’re always thinking of ways to expand the series around the world", including to "people who don’t play games".