Monster Hunter Wilds, the latest entry in Capcom’s flagship franchise, has been a massive commercial hit so far, with worldwide sales exceeding 8 million units in the first three days of release. Monster Hunter series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto recently talked to The Nikkei about what he considers to have contributed to the title’s success so far.
According to Tsujimoto’s analysis, the biggest factors that have influenced Wilds’ popularity are its emphasis on story, heightened immersion (thanks to being fully voiced) and cross-play. While the addition of cross-platform support is a no-brainer when it comes to attracting players and keeping them more heavily engaged, the emphasis on story is an interesting answer, given that for many Monster Hunter fans, story has not been a big priority in the series so far.
Compared to previous mainline entries, Monster Hunter Wilds undeniably expands into more story-driven territory, with players and reviewers alike agreeing that the narrative and characters feel more deeply integrated into the main hunting campaign. To boot, support characters like Gemma now tag along with you on quests, playing a more active role. It seems that Wilds’ development team considers such narrative-related changes to have contributed to its popularity. It’s possible that the focus on story and more fleshed out NPCs could have attracted more players who prefer going on solo adventures.
As an aside, Monster Hunter Wilds’ art director and executive director Kaname Fujioka recently commented that he expects various theories to arise based on the game’s dense and detailed worldbuilding, including speculation on the secret behind Monster Hunter Wilds’ logo art.
Monster Hunter Wilds is out now on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam).
