Monster Hunter: World is a 2018 action role-playing game created and released by Capcom. It is the fifth main game in the Monster Hunter series and was available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in January 2018. A version for Windows computers was released in August 2018. In the game, players take the role of a Hunter who must hunt and either kill or trap monsters that live in different environments. When players succeed, they receive rewards such as parts from the monsters and other items used to create weapons, armor, and other equipment. The main activity in the game involves crafting gear to hunt more challenging monsters, which then provide better materials for stronger equipment. Players can play alone or with up to four others through the game’s online multiplayer feature.
Announced at E3 2017, Monster Hunter: World uses the same basic ideas from older games in the series but updates them to work better with modern consoles and computers. Changes in the game include fully connected environments that replace the separate "zones" used in older versions, more advanced monster behavior and physics, a more continuous online team play experience, and improved tutorials and menus to help new players learn the game. These updates led Capcom to release the game at the same time worldwide, as the series had previously struggled outside Japan partly because of different release dates in different regions. Capcom also allowed online play between players in different regions for similar reasons. The Windows version was delayed to ensure it worked well on computers. By April 2020, all platforms received the same game updates.
Monster Hunter: World was highly praised when it was released. Critics noted that Capcom made the game easier for new players and Western audiences while keeping the series’ fun challenges and core gameplay. The game also used the power of modern consoles to create realistic ecosystems. Monster Hunter: World is the best-selling game in Capcom’s history, with over 23 million copies sold by January 2024. A downloadable content expansion called Iceborne was released for home consoles in September 2019 and for Windows in January 2020. It sold 10 million copies by December 2022. The next game in the series, Monster Hunter Rise, was developed alongside World and released for Nintendo Switch in March 2021. A Windows version came out in January 2022.
Gameplay
Monster Hunter: World is an action role-playing game played from a third-person perspective. The player controls a character they create, who travels to the "New World," a land with no people, filled with monsters. The player joins the Research Commission, a group that studies the land from their base, Astera. The Commission sends the player on missions to find and either kill or capture large monsters that live outside Astera. This helps protect the Commission and learn about the monsters. The player's character does not have natural abilities. Instead, these are determined by the equipment the player uses.
Equipment includes weapons, chosen from 14 types, such as long swords, bows, or hammers. Each weapon gives the player different fighting moves and abilities. Armor can also affect combat skills, depending on how it is matched. Most equipment is made from materials collected by hunting monsters, completing quests, or gathering items in the world. This creates a cycle where players fight monsters they can handle to get materials, craft better weapons and armor, and then challenge stronger monsters for more powerful gear.
Astera is the main hub where players can buy and sell items, manage their inventory, craft equipment, and get new quests. A key part of Monster Hunter games is building and upgrading weapons and armor at a forge using parts from monsters and resources found during quests. As players defeat tougher monsters, they can make armor with better defense or special resistances, or upgrade weapons to be stronger and deal more damage. Weapons and armor also have skills that give the player special effects. In World, each weapon or armor piece has one or more skill ranks, and the total effect depends on adding up all the ranks from equipped items. Astera also has a farm to grow plants, training areas to practice weapons, a place to fight special challenges, and a canteen where players can eat meals to get helpful effects during quests.
After choosing a quest or going on an open mission, the player starts at a base camp in one of six large regions that make up the New World. Each region has numbered areas connected without loading screens. Players move between areas but can quickly travel to any base camp in the region when not fighting. At camp, players can get supplies, rest to heal, and eat meals similar to those in Astera. To find monsters, players use Scoutflies, which hover near monster signs or resources like plants and ores. Investigating these signs improves Scoutflies' abilities, helping them guide the player to monsters. It also increases the player's knowledge of the monster's strengths and weaknesses.
Once a monster is found, the player can use traps, weapons, and items to kill or capture it. As the monster weakens, it may become more aggressive or flee to rest. Players have tools like the Slinger, which can fire rocks to damage monsters or act as a grappling hook to climb. Environmental hazards, like boulders, can be shot or pulled down with the Slinger. A new tool, the Mantle, gives temporary buffs like reducing damage taken or hiding from monsters. Players can also use the environment, such as flooding a monster or luring it into another monster's den. The game has changing weather and a day-night cycle that can affect monster behavior.
During combat, the player must watch their health. If it drops to zero, they faint and return to camp, losing some rewards. Fainting too many times fails the quest. Players also manage stamina, which is used for dodging and other actions. Stamina recovers when not fighting. Players can use restorative items while walking, but they need a few moments to fully benefit. World provides more help for players, like a companion that warns of low health and details about weapons and armor. Players must also watch for debuffs from monsters, weapon sharpness, and limits on items they can carry. Completing a quest gives rewards like monster parts and zenny, a type of money. Rewards depend on the rarity of the parts, so rare items may require repeating quests.
World includes a story mode through quests. Unlike earlier games, the story continues into High Rank quests, which are more difficult. Players can complete bounties alongside main quests, which improve resources in Astera. Up to six bounties can be active at once, offering rewards. Investigation quests, from Scoutflies or breaking monster parts, have unique goals or time limits but provide extra rewards. These can only be attempted a limited number of times.
The game supports single-player and up to four players working together online.
Synopsis
In a high fantasy world not named, humans and other intelligent races are exploring the New World, a land far from the populated Old World. The New World is a wild, unexplored place filled with dangerous creatures. Scientists have traveled there to learn about its secrets. Several large groups of ships, called Fleets, have been sent to build safe bases and conduct research under the direction of the Research Commission.
The game features characters such as Handler, Commander, Admiral, Field Team Leader, Seeker, Second Fleet Master, Third Fleet Master, Huntsman, Analytics Director, Tracker, Excitable A-Lister, Provisions Manager, Chief Ecologist, Tech Chief, Captain, and Serious Handler.
Players control a hunter they can name, who is supported by an assistant handler and a creature called a palico. These characters are part of the Fifth Fleet, which was sent by the Research Commission to help with the New World’s exploration. A major goal of the expedition is to study Elder Dragons, powerful creatures that can change entire ecosystems. Scientists are trying to understand why these dragons move to the New World every ten years in an event called the Elder Crossing.
While traveling to the New World, the Fifth Fleet meets Zorah Magdaros, a huge, volcano-like Elder Dragon as big as a mountain. After being rescued and taken to a base called Astera, the Hunter and their Handler complete tasks to study Zorah Magdaros at the request of the Expedition’s Commander. The Expedition discovers that Zorah Magdaros is dying and heading toward a large graveyard called the Rotten Vale. A mission to capture Zorah Magdaros is stopped by Nergigante, a spiky Elder Dragon that eats other Elder Dragons and is protecting Zorah Magdaros as its next meal.
After escaping, Zorah Magdaros enters the Everstream, a massive underground river beneath the New World, instead of going to the Rotten Vale. Further research shows that if Zorah Magdaros dies in the Everstream, its energy will destroy the New World. To prevent this, the Expedition creates a plan to guide Zorah Magdaros into the ocean, where its energy will form a new underwater ecosystem. Nergigante attacks again but is driven away by the Hunters, and Zorah Magdaros is successfully led into the ocean.
However, Nergigante flees to the Elder’s Recess, a volcanic area filled with energy from Elder Dragons. Its presence causes other Elder Dragons to leave the area, disrupting ecosystems. With help from the Admiral, the leader of the Expedition, the Hunter tracks and kills Nergigante. After Nergigante’s death, the Elder Dragons return to the Recess. The source of energy in the Recess is found to be Xeno'jiiva, a dangerous baby Elder Dragon that had been growing inside the Recess and feeding on the energy of dead Elder Dragons. Xeno'jiiva hatches when discovered and is killed by the Hunter at the Admiral’s request to prevent it from harming the world. With the Elder Crossing now understood, the Expedition ends, but some members may stay in the New World to continue their research.
Development
Monster Hunter: World is the fifth game in the Monster Hunter series, according to the game's senior producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and director Yuya Tokuda. Along with executive director Kaname Fujioka, Tokuda also directed Monster Hunter 4 and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. Development of World began about three years before the E3 2017 announcement, after a year of planning what the next main game in the series would be. With the series more than 10 years old, Capcom re-evaluated its direction and decided that the new consoles' hardware capabilities allowed for a different vision compared to earlier handheld games. According to Capcom Europe's COO Stuart Turner and marketing director Antoine Molant, teams outside Japan suggested making the game more accessible to Western audiences with full online support. Japanese teams were hesitant because the series had reliably sold 3 to 4 million copies in Japan, and they worried about losing those sales by making the game more global. However, Sony supported the plan to expand globally, believing it would help increase PlayStation 4 sales. The project also required a large budget to compete with Hollywood movies, and Capcom had to reduce costs in many areas.
Tsujimoto said earlier games had complicated rules, and the use of separate zones made each area feel disconnected. He wanted to change this by creating more realistic, interconnected worlds. This shift affected gameplay, such as removing loading screens, which meant players could not escape to other zones to heal. Instead, players could now drink healing potions while moving. Tokuda noted that these changes made the game faster-paced. A prototype of this open-world design took about 18 months to complete by November 2015, with 50 to 70 developers testing how monsters would behave in different environments. The environments were so important that the original prototype did not include combat; players had to avoid or defeat monsters through other methods. This helped the team realize that using the environment for protection or to harm monsters could be a key part of the game.
While the game includes monsters from earlier titles, developers also created new monsters using the improved hardware. Designing new monsters often started with creating a specific gameplay challenge or behavior, then working with level designers to find or create areas where the monster could live and display that behavior. This helped define the monster's appearance and behavior to match the region. Monsters could now be animated with more detail, such as showing natural movements of feathers on bird-like monsters or allowing monsters to change forms. For example, the monster Nergigante was designed with thorns that grow over time as it becomes more aggressive. With better technology, developers could show each of the thousands of thorns moving and growing, which affects how players fight it. Monster animations were partly created using motion capture, where human actors performed monster actions. Rules were set for how monsters interacted with their environment, but no scripted events were used. This sometimes led to unexpected monster behavior during testing. Once monsters were created, developers used them to design weapons and armor made from monster parts, ensuring a consistent game feel.
Capcom found that the open-world design would appeal more to Western audiences. The Monster Hunter series had struggled in Western markets because of the game's complexity, steep learning curve, and the preference for console and PC gaming in the West compared to Japan's focus on portable games. The team believed the new approach would work better in Western markets and began adjusting the game to include Western-style controls and interface designs. They also added more tutorials and made dialogue fully voiced to avoid unskippable text boxes. These changes led to a decision to release the game globally with cross-region play, hoping to attract more Western players. Tsujimoto and Tokuda wanted to ensure the game was accessible to Western players who had not played earlier games. They also addressed past criticism that the games were hard to learn but rewarding once mastered, aiming to make the learning process easier without changing the game's core difficulty. Tsujimoto said the team has worked on the series for over a decade and wants fans to recognize it as a true Monster Hunter game.
The subtitle "World" refers to many design changes in the game compared to earlier Monster Hunter titles: it reflects the game's focus on interconnected worlds, realistic ecosystems, and new gameplay features.
Release
Monster Hunter: World was announced at E3 2017 and released worldwide on January 26, 2018, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game was available in digital and physical formats, with a Collector's Edition that included an art book, a CD with the game's soundtrack, and a statue of a monster from the game. A limited edition PlayStation 4 Pro console decorated with Monster Hunter: World art was sold in Japan on December 7, 2017. A three-disc original soundtrack, composed by Tadayoshi Makino, Zhenlan Kang, Akihiko Narita, and Yuko Komiyama, was released in Japan on February 14, 2018.
A limited demo of the game, only available to PlayStation Plus members, was offered from December 9–12, 2017. The demo included practice areas for all 14 weapon types and three hunting quests that could be completed alone or with others through online cooperation. Players who completed the quests received bonus items in the game when it officially launched. A second demo period for PlayStation 4, no longer requiring PlayStation Plus, ran from December 22–26, 2017. A final beta period added one more quest and ran from January 19–22, 2018.
A Windows version of the game was released on August 9, 2018, alongside the console versions. Developers said updates for all platforms would be released as quickly as possible, but the Windows version might receive updates later. Cross-platform play between versions was not supported. The initial Windows version had the same graphics quality as the console versions, with plans to release a free patch in April 2019 that included high-definition textures and additional graphics options. After the major "Iceborne" update in April 2020, all future updates would be released at the same time for all platforms.
Tencent managed the release of Monster Hunter: World for personal computer users in China through its WeGame platform. However, less than a week after release, Tencent had to stop selling the game due to complaints from Chinese authorities about its online content. Normally, the State Administration of Radio and Television (SART) would review games and issue licenses for distribution, but SART had not issued any licenses since March 2018. Players could still play the game offline, and Tencent offered full refunds for two weeks after the sale was stopped.
As with earlier games in the series, Monster Hunter: World included limited-time quests that promoted other Capcom games and third-party titles. PlayStation 4 players could play as Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn. Other events added costumes and elements based on Mega Man, Street Fighter characters Ryu and Sakura, and Devil May Cry’s Dante.
A cross-promotional event between Monster Hunter: World and Final Fantasy XIV was released in both games in August 2018. Players in Final Fantasy XIV could fight Monster Hunter’s Rathalos, while players in Monster Hunter: World could fight Final Fantasy’s Behemoth. This collaboration was planned after Capcom’s Tsujimoto reached out to Final Fantasy XIV director Naoki Yoshida during the game’s rebuilding in 2011. Yoshida later met with Tsujimoto during Monster Hunter: World’s development and suggested the cross-promotion idea.
A cross-promotional event with Assassin’s Creed in late December 2018 allowed players to wear armor resembling Ezio from Assassin’s Creed II or Bayek from Assassin’s Creed Origins. Another event in February 2019 included The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, letting players hunt as Geralt of Rivia or Ciri.
Similar cross-promotions continued with the Iceborne update, which included outfits based on Resident Evil characters Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield. A promotion tied to the Monster Hunter film was held in December 2020 before the film’s release.
Viz Media published the game’s artbook, Monster Hunter World Official Complete Works, in Japan in January 2018. The book was planned for release in Western regions with English translations in mid-2020.
Capcom released the game’s soundtrack as retail packages, digital downloads, and part of streaming services like Spotify.
Steamforged Games launched a Kickstarter in April 2021 to create a licensed board game based on Monster Hunter: World, with an expected release in September 2022. The campaign reached its initial funding goal of €150,000 within ten minutes and raised €3,448,262 from 20,398 backers. After its success, Steamforged expanded the project to include Iceborne and Wildspire Waste. Reviews praised the game’s monster miniatures, replayability, and variety of playstyles.
Reception
Monster Hunter: World received "universal acclaim" from critics on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and a "generally favourable" reception on PC, according to a website called Metacritic.
Reviewers praised the game for keeping the core Monster Hunter experience while making it easier for new players to learn. They noted that the game used the stronger power of consoles to create more detailed and lively worlds. However, some reviewers mentioned that learning the game’s rules and dealing with its difficulty could still be challenging for players who are not familiar with the series.
Before the game was released, long-time fans created an unofficial program called "Adopt-A-Hunter." This program paired experienced players with newcomers to help them learn the game’s strategies and features. The program was started because many Western players were expected to play Monster Hunter: World for the first time, and it aimed to help them manage the game’s learning curve and grow the community.
Monster Hunter: World sold over five million copies within three days of its release, including digital sales. This number was higher than any other game in the series before it. In Japan, 1.35 million copies were sold at stores during these three days, and about 2 million copies were sold overall, including digital versions. Sales of PlayStation 4 consoles also increased during the same week, with more than 140,000 units sold. Two weeks after release, Capcom reported that sales had reached six million copies, making World the fastest-selling Monster Hunter game and the fastest-selling game in Capcom’s history. World became Capcom’s fourth highest-selling game. In the United States, NPD Group reported that World was the top-selling game in both January and February 2018.
By April 2018, combined sales of physical copies and digital versions reached over eight million copies, making World Capcom’s highest-selling game and helping the company achieve its most profitable year. Before the game’s Windows release, sales had grown to over 8.3 million copies, which increased Capcom’s quarterly profit by nearly 50% compared to the previous year.
Digital sales of Monster Hunter: World competed with PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds on Xbox One. In the United States, World surpassed Battlegrounds in its second week of release, but in the United Kingdom, it ranked just behind Battlegrounds. On PlayStation Network, World topped online sales charts in the United States and Europe for January 2018 and also ranked first in Australia. At the 2018 PlayStation Awards, World received the Quadruple Platinum Prize for selling over four million copies on PlayStation 4 in Asia.
In July 2018, after the announcement of the Windows version of Monster Hunter: World, pre-orders for the game were among the top 10 selling games on Steam. In China, Tencent reported over a million pre-orders during the same month. On release, World had over 240,000 players online at the same time, the highest number for any game on Steam in 2018 and for any Japanese-published game on Steam before that. In August 2018, Capcom announced that Monster Hunter: World had sold over 10 million copies across all platforms, raising the total sales of the Monster Hunter series to over 50 million units. In the United States, World ranked second in sales for August 2018. World was one of the top 12 highest-selling games on Steam in 2018 and one of 10 games on Steam with more than 100,000 players online at its peak. By March 2019, Capcom reported that the Windows platform was the second-highest source of sales for World globally, leading the company to consider PC versions essential for future games, especially in Europe.
At Tokyo Game Show 2018, Capcom announced that Monster Hunter: World had sold over 10 million copies worldwide, the highest number for any Monster Hunter game. For the first time, sales outside Japan exceeded sales within Japan, with overseas sales accounting for 71%. Capcom stated that the success of Monster Hunter: World was a major reason for its profitability in the financial year ending March 31, 2019, with total sales reaching over 12 million units. By October 2019, global sales had surpassed 14 million copies.
After the Windows release of the expansion, Iceborne, on January 9, 2020, Capcom reported that sales of Iceborne exceeded 4 million copies across all platforms. Total sales of Monster Hunter: World had surpassed 15 million copies, and total sales of the Monster Hunter series reached over 61 million units. By the end of Capcom’s 2019 fiscal year on March 31, 2020, Monster Hunter: World had sold over 15.5 million copies, and Iceborne had sold over 5 million copies. By October 2021, Monster Hunter: World had sold over 20 million copies, and Iceborne had sold over 8.5 million copies.
In December 2023, Capcom announced the release of Monster Hunter Wilds and launched a "Return to World" campaign to increase interest in Monster Hunter: World. This campaign caused the number of players online at the same time on Steam to rise to over 100,000. Capcom reported that Monster Hunter: World had sold over 23 million copies by January 2024.