While the Monster Hunter series has been around since 2004, it only recently saw incredible mainstream success with Monster Hunter: World and its Iceborne expansion. While Monster Hunter: World debuted on Xbox One and PS4, later making its way to PC, Capcom surprised fans with the announcement of Monster Hunter Rise as a Nintendo Switch exclusive.
Capcom does have a past with Nintendo-exclusive Monster Hunter titles, such as Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, but Monster Hunter Rise looked to be the most ambitious installment on a Nintendo platform yet. The Switch-exclusivity of Rise was seen as a gamble by many, but the game has sold incredibly well, now even topping charts for 2021 so far.
American market research company The NPD Group has released new data showing that Monster Hunter Rise has become the fourth best-selling 2021 video game. Falling just behind massive titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War, Super Mario 3D World, and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, the newest installment in the Monster Hunter series has proven itself worldwide with this new feat, and just during its debut month when it launched on March 26.
NPD Group Executive Director and Video Game Industry Advisor Mat Piscatella also revealed that Monster Hunter Rise debuted as both the second best-selling video game in the month of March, as well as the number one best-selling title on the Nintendo Switch. Though the game hasn't even been released for a full month yet, Monster Hunter Rise already ranks second in lifetime dollar sales among all Monster Hunter titles, falling just behind Monster Hunter: World. Earlier this month, Capcom distributed a commemorative item pack to Monster Hunter Rise players in celebration of five million units shipped worldwide.
While Monster Hunter Rise was initially announced solely as a Switch title, it was revealed recently that the game would be coming to PC in early 2022. Additionally, Capcom also has its hands full with the upcoming Monster Hunter Stories 2, which will release this summer on both the Switch and PC.
Many fans have agreed that Monster Hunter Rise breathes new life into the franchise, with mechanics like the Wirebug for added mobility and new Silkbind attacks, as well as the Palamute buddy which gives players a quicker way to traverse locales. The game will also be adding free updates with new monsters, the first set to release later this month.
Monster Hunter Rise is available now for Nintendo Switch.
Source: The NPD Group