Everything We Know About ‘Monster Hunter Wilds’: Release Date, Weapon Changes, and More

By Dean Blake - Guide

Published: 7 Feb 2025|Last Updated: 17 Feb 2025

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Table of contents

Table of contents

• What’s New in ‘Monster Hunter Wilds’?
• How Will Weapons Work in ‘Monster Hunter Wilds’?
• When is it Coming Out?

Readtime: 7 min

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Six years after Capcom dropped the wildly-popular Monster Hunter World, and three years after the more action-focused follow-up Monster Hunter Rise, Monster Hunter Wilds is bringing the series to a new level of open world. Every weapon type has been revamped, the way you interact with and move through the world has been rethought, and the monsters themselves are retooled to absolutely wreck your day.

Here we’re going to break down everything we know about the game, and check out all the different editions that are launching. If you want to know how Wilds‘ gameplay will differ from what came before you’re in the right place.

What’s New in ‘Monster Hunter Wilds’?

Ever since we got our first look at the game, we’ve waited with bated breath to see how the Monster Hunter series would transition to a more open-world format, and thankfully we’ve got some answers ahead of the game’s launch.

For context, previous games would take place within separate and interconnected maps, rather than one large, open space. In Wilds, however, things are changing. Instead, the game will take place in a far larger map known as the Forbidden Lands, that is going to feature different biomes, cultures, and predators precariously existing together.

For example, the ‘Windward Plains’ region will connect to the nearby ‘Scarlet Forest’ biome, providing two regions that share a border, but will host different creatures, characters, and opportunities. Another region, the ‘Oilwell Basin’, is more volcanic and mountainous, whereas the newly revealed ‘Iceshard Cliffs’ will bring a more cold and cavernous location to the game.

With a bigger map, moving quickly and efficiently becomes important, which is where the new ‘Seikret’ familiar comes into play. In the previous game, Rise, Hunters would be able to ride on a Palamute – a hunting dog, essentially. In Wilds, however, you’ll instead be accompanied by the Seikret, a velociraptor-like bird creature that you can mount, and use to traverse great distances faster, or even hover using its foldable wings (seen above).

Of note is that while the base Seikret will be the same for every hunter, you’ll unlock customisation options as you play the game, allowing you to change the creature’s colours, gear, and more.

That Seikret will also carry a second weapon for you – a first for the series – allowing you to quickly switch weapons in the midst of a hunt. You could potentially use a ranged weapon to fight a Rathalos while it’s airborne, shred it’s wings and cause it to land more often, and then switch out to a melee weapon to start working on cutting its tail, for example. Or keep a bowgun handy to whip out while chasing a monster down on the back of your Seikret, before getting back into the fray with your main.

Being able to move more efficiently will also be important due to the fact that, compared to prior games, you won’t necessarily be returning to a hub town in-between missions. Instead, it you’ll be able to make camp out in the open world in order to heal up and prepare for hunts, and then take on hunting opportunities out in the wild as they pop-up.

Each biome will, according to Capcom, play host to a distinct culture that the player can visit and learn from.

Additionally, the hunter won’t be alone, bringing a whole caravan of characters, including a handler, smithy, and researchers along to support them. These characters will all remain within a stationary hub in each area, though it isn’t clear if that is a place selected by the player or is fixed.

How Will Weapons Work in ‘Monster Hunter Wilds’?

If you’re a veteran hunter, you’ll be glad to know that all 14 of the series’ mainstay weapons are returning in Wilds, each with some new techniques and toys to play with.

A few weapons have a new ‘counter’ called an offset, activated by interrupting an attacking monster with a particular attack from the weapon in question. It’s incredibly strong, but is only available to some of the slower weapons of the bunch: the Great Sword, Hammer, Hunting Horn, Switch Axe, and Heavy Bow Gun. It’ll essentially allow those bigger and slower weapons to more easily and more consistently stagger their targets, which could be a massive gain in multiplayer if paired with some good teammates.

A new addition to all weapons is ‘Focus Mode’, which will allow hunters to more easily aim attacks and defences at where the camera is facing. In previous games (and likely when not using Focus Mode), your hunters actions will instead be focused on where they are facing, rather than your camera, which can lead to some frustrations in hitting or dodging monster attacks if you aren’t used to it.

Plus, by focusing on a specific body part of a creature, you’ll start to wound it. The more you hit a specific part, the more damage it will do to the monster, so targeting key areas will help a hunt go faster and more smoothly.

If you’re a new player, though, the idea of choosing which weapon to play with will be streamlined within the game, with your handler being able to give some advice depending on how you want to play the game.

Multiplayer is a key part of every Monster Hunter game, and Wilds is no different. Here, you’ll be able to team up with up to three other players to take on tougher hunts, or bring in NPC hunters if you’re playing offline. Beware, though, bringing in more hunters does tend to give monsters more health.

If you want a more detailed explanation of each of the weapon types and how they’re evolving for Wilds, check out the breakdown video below.

When is it Coming Out?

Capcom confirmed the game will be launching on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S and X on February 28, 2025. It’s available for pre-order now on your platform of choice, and there’s a few different editions.

Here is a rough breakdown of what’s included across each edition, but check digital storefronts for some more detail.