Debuting in 2004, the Monster Hunter franchise has had a long history of multi-platform releases, with even its first entry initially releasing on PS2 and being ported to the Wii years later. Over the last almost two decades, Monster Hunter has released a plethora of standalone titles specifically designed for handheld consoles like the PSP and Nintendo DS, with the most recent example being Monster Hunter Rise. But Monster Hunter Rise is about to do what few other handheld Monster Hunter games have done before and get ported to other consoles.
Blurring the lines between a handheld and home console Monster Hunter game, Monster Hunter Rise was an impressive title when it launched on the Switch in 2021, and with Capcom just announcing that the game is headed to PlayStation and Xbox early next year, even more fans will be able to see that for themselves. However, this could mean that a bigger-budget, larger-scale Monster Hunter game isn't currently in the works, which will be a disappointment for those expecting Monster Hunter World 2.
Fans May Be Waiting a While for Monster Hunter World 2
Originally releasing for the Nintendo Switch in 2021, Monster Hunter Rise received a PC release January of this year. Back then, many fans believed that it was only a matter of time before the game would also head to other consoles as well, and Capcom has just proved them right. In January 2023, fans will be able to play Monster Hunter Rise on their PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with the game even coming to Xbox Game Pass at its release.
Many fans are taking this news as a subtle announcement that Monster Hunter World 2 is not coming out any time soon. Before its release, Monster Hunter World was marketed as the franchise's big return to the console landscape. Before World, the Monster Hunter franchise had spent about five years being 3DS exclusive, with no large-scale mainline entries for quite some time. Monster Hunter World was set to be the franchise's return to form, and the hype surrounding it was immense.
When it released in 2018, Monster Hunter World was a gigantic hit, delivering on all of its promises. Being a marked step up from the 3DS entries, Monster Hunter World was truly the first large-scale Monster Hunter game in years, and fans instantly fell in love with it. With Monster Hunter World's release being such a big deal, fans had begun to believe that Capcom would continue to release smaller-scale Monster Hunter games on handheld consoles, while the big mainline entries were reserved for standard consoles and PC. With Monster Hunter Rise heading to PlayStation and Xbox in just a month's time, fans now aren't so sure about their theory. This announcement would seem to suggest that another mainline Monster Hunter title is quite a ways off.
Thankfully, Monster Hunter Rise is much more than just a handheld Monster Hunter game. Though it may not be as visually impressive as Monster Hunter World, Monster Hunter Rise should certainly be considered a mainline entry, introducing a slew of new traversal and combat mechanics while retaining a fully-fledged open-world approach. With Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak also heading to PlayStation and Xbox in Spring 2023, there's plenty of new content for fans to dive into, and there's more than enough to keep fans going until another mainline Monster Hunter game eventually releases.
Monster Hunter Rise is available on PC and Switch, and is releasing January 20 2023 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.