Monster Hunter: World to finally release on Xbox in Japan, only six years later 

Capcom has announced that the Xbox One versions of Monster Hunter: World and Monster Hunter World: Iceborne will be releasing in Japan on June 5, 2024. 

Monster Hunter: World, the fifth main entry to the Monster Hunter series, was released in 2018, and the Iceborne expansion followed in the subsequent year. Xbox One versions of both titles were available in North America and Europe at the time of initial launch, but this was not the case in Japan. 

After a six year wait, Japanese Xbox users will finally be able to play Monster Hunter: World and Iceborne. While this might seem strange, especially considering it’s a Japanese game, it is unfortunately something Japanese gamers are used to. In a past article, we detailed the phenomenon of Japanese publishers auto-region locking their games due to console exclusivity deals and other factors, and Monster Hunter: World is another such case. It is speculated that due to a PS4 exclusivity deal with Sony, the Xbox versions of the two Monster Hunter titles were region locked from Japan and the rest of Asia. 

Thankfully, the upcoming Monster Hunter Wilds will be launching worldwide (including Japan) for the PC (Steam), PS5 and Series X|S in 2025.