Monster Hunter World has launched to monumental acclaim. Capcom recently reported that the game has shipped 6 million copies worldwide, which almost makes it the best selling game in the series and will likely hit that record soon. Note that this is units shipped to retailers for physical releases, but also counts digital sales, so either way it's a good sign. It also hit 5 million units only three days after release. In North America, Monster Hunter has always struggled, not even selling a million units of the most popular title, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. According to VG Charts, even the last game Monster Hunter Generations struggled to reach even half a million units. This is likely why Monster Hunter XX on the Switch wasn't translated for global audiences, along with the timing between that release and Monster Hunter World. 

Conversely, the game has been advently supported in Japan, really hitting its stride when it debuted on the PSP. Monster Hunter Freedom 3 was the most popular title in Japan, where it sold almost five million on the PSP. It was the handheld nature of the game that kept it alive, becoming ingrained in Japanese culture to the point that Monster Hunter and the PSP showed up in other works like comics and anime.

Yet, it never really caught on in the West, but the fans that the game did have were passionate and Capcom ended up creating a combination of western game designs mixed with staples of the series. Items were also streamlined to be less cumbersome. Clearly, this design pursuit was worthwhile as Monster Hunter World is quickly becoming a favorite for new and old fans alike. 

So what made Monster Hunter World so successful?

For starters, while handhelds have been popular with the West since the dawn of the Game Boy and Tetris, portable gaming is massive in Japan. Monster Hunter found its feet on the handhelds and that’s mostly where it stayed. Bringing the game to the PS4 and Xbox One, along with the modern controls were probably enough to get fans excited.

For instance, playing as a gunner in any previous Monster Hunter has always felt cumbersome, but in World that’s all been adapted to a more traditional 3rd person button scheme. Sure being a gunner can be complicated with all the different ammo types, but at least aiming feels much better.  

Aside from the benefits of a modern controller, there is also the graphic fidelity. Handhelds have come a long way, but having Monster Hunter on consoles gives the developers a lot more power to show off the vibrant world they’ve created. Monsters are more detailed than they have ever been and removing loading between zones ensures there is little downtime during a hunt. Plus there are a ton of smaller creatures running about, making almost every scene in the game packed with life, even if those environments are used frequently in the game.

For those wanting to play multiplayer, the option to play with anyone around the world ensures that the Monster Hunter community is never separated, except by console. This also means that at almost any given moment, there are players connecting. Of course, things haven’t been incredibly smooth for Xbox players starting out. Trying to connect with friends is a little more complex than it needs to be, but when it works, it creates a challenging and addictive experience. That and this is the type of issue that can be patched out over time.

So Monster Hunter World’s success can really be extrapolated from those three factors: better controls, modern graphics, and connectability. That’s not to mention the marketing that went into it, as Capcom really doubled down on their biggest endeavor for one of their most popular franchises.

A member of one of the more popular Monster Hunter discord groups, shared that sentiment. “Their marketing was on point,” said RawHalibut, “I’d attribute it to that honestly.” User Pestilence in that same Discord said “World's popularity is just a Mission Accomplished banner. Goal set, goal achieved.” Mazzey, also in that community, reiterated those thought lines, “On console, well marketed,” he stated simply.  

Another player on the Monster Hunter International Guild Facebook page, also said something similar. “It was [released on] on a console that mattered.”

“All jokes aside Sony actually promoted this one and the game wasn't on a console more known for kid friendly titles like Mario or Zelda but on a console known for stuff like Dark Souls, which is continually compared to this series.”

Now that the game is out, the continued success will likely be determined by continuous support with DLC and engagement with the community. This is also getting a boost from people streaming the game on Twitch, something that was almost non-existent prior to this release that has now hit the top ten games being streamed.

The amount of viewers is beating out some of the staples of Twitch, depending on who’s streaming, really pointing that this might be a longer lasting game than initially anticipated and could pave the way for more releases.

For more community-focused content on Monster Hunter World, check out my previous piece on the matter.