When Monster Hunter Rise was first announced, it was both surprising and unsurprising that the game was going to be a Switch exclusive. Monster Hunter has a history of being Nintendo console exclusive -- but only sometimes. Monster Hunter World, the predecessor to Monster Hunter Rise, was released on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, for instance. Fans accepted for a while that Monster Hunter Rise was going to be a Switch exclusive and accepted it that way. However, a few months after the game's reveal, Monster Hunter fans found out that it wouldn't be a Switch exclusive after all. The game is coming to PC next year.
The strange situation of Monster Hunter Rise's reversal of fortunes speaks to Monster Hunter's on-again, off-again relationship with Nintendo as an exclusive title. The franchise has a habit of drifting around, sometimes sticking with Nintendo, and sometimes preferring other consoles. Capcom doesn't seem tied down to reaching its audience through any particular company's console, and just wants to get Monster Hunter out in the world. Still, every so often, it comes back to Nintendo and lets it have exclusive rights to Monster Hunter titles once in a while. It's certainly one of the stranger game industry relationships out there.
To Nintendo or Not to Nintendo
Monster Hunter didn't start out with any kind of Nintendo exclusivity. On the contrary, the first two Monster Hunter games were PS2 exclusives, much to Sony's benefit. However, Monster Hunter Tri came to the Wii first and other Nintendo platforms later, and after that, both Monster Hunter 4 and its enhanced versions Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate were exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS. It's an odd shift, but it didn't seem to get in Capcom's way at all. Both versions of Monster Hunter 4 greatly outsold their predecessors, even though Capcom had moved away from their main audience on the PlayStation. Apparently Nintendo just had a strong audience to offer.
Monster Hunter's availability has been a little more unpredictable since then, though. Monster Hunter: World launched on PS4 and Xbox One, then came to PC later, and never arrived on Switch. In spite of that, Monster Hunter: World's sales totally blew every previous game's sales out of the water. The franchise wasn't hurt at all by changing demographics once again. Now Capcom has moved on to Monster Hunter Rise, which is Switch exclusive until it hits PC next year. Even though Capcom has switched platforms once again, it reports that it's already sold many millions of copies of the game. Those number will only go up once the PC version drops in 2022.
A Meandering Pattern
It's sort of fascinating how often Capcom has changed platforms when it comes to Monster Hunter media. The aforementioned games are only those in the core franchise; there's also a long list of spinoffs that are equally erratic when it comes to platforms. There have been a few Nintendo exclusives like Monster Hunter Generations, but historically, the franchise's spinoffs haven't been limited to any one company's consoles. Admittedly, more recent titles like Monster Hunter Stories have shown a significant preference for Nintendo platforms, but they've yet to be truly exclusive. At the very least, they form an interesting trend.
Nintendo apparently paid Capcom a lot of money for a window of exclusive access to Monster Hunter Rise. It's a shrewd business move that'll allow Nintendo to get its hands on a possible majority of the game's sales, as fans pick up the game in its first year. One wonders if Capcom is ever going to commit to true Nintendo exclusivity. After selling to well on other platforms, Monster Hunter Rise has given Capcom plenty of reason to be hesitant to committing to Nintendo. Since Nintendo is showing so much interest in Monster Hunter, though, fans of the franchise should still keep an eye on Capcom's relationship with Nintendo, and keep in mind that permanent Nintendo preference could still come about.
Monster Hunter Rise is available now for Nintendo Switch. A PC version will release in early 2022.