2025 is shaping up to be a massive year for video game releases, what with juggernauts likeGrand Theft Auto 6,Metroid Prime 4,Fable,Death Stranding 2, andMarvel 1943: Rise of Hydraall slated for release in the coming months. For action RPG fans, though, one of the biggest highlights for 2025 will likely be the launch ofMonster Hunter Wilds, the next mainline installment in Capcom’s long-running franchise. From what little information available about it so far, it looks likeMonster Hunter Wildsis poised to shake up the series' formula just asMH: Worlddid in 2018. With a greater emphasis on story and a more expansive world, this upcoming installment seems like it has the potential to be a game-changer for the franchise.
WhenCapcom announcedMonster Hunter Wildsduring The Game Awards 2023, the publisher revealed that the game would only release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, making it the first title in the series to ditch last-gen platforms like the PS4 and Xbox One. Predictably, given its current-gen exclusivity, the game won’t release on Nintendo Switch, either, as it’d likely be too graphically-intensive for the aging handheld. That being said, the lack of a Switch port doesn’t necessarily rule out the possibility of the game coming to Nintendo’s next-generation console. This is something that Capcom might consider, and if it does follow suit with the idea, thenMonster Hunter Wildscould end up being a perfect fit for the Switch 2.
Monster Hunter Wilds Could Pair Well With the Nintendo Switch 2
TheMonster Hunterserieshas a rather extensive history on Nintendo’s consoles. Though the franchise got its start on the PS2 in 2004, it eventually branched out to a plethora of other systems. The firstMonster Huntergame to come to a Nintendo platform was 2009’sMonster Hunter G, an enhanced, Japan-only Wii port of the first installment in the series. This was followed up byMonster Hunter Trilater that year, which was a mainline entry in the franchise that surprisingly skipped PlayStation platforms in favor of being a Wii exclusive.
SinceTri, many otherMonster Huntergames have made an appearance on Nintendo platforms besides the Wii.Monster Hunter 4, for instance, was released exclusively for the 3DS in 2013, while its successor,Monster Hunter Generations, came to both the 3DS and Switch in 2016 and 2017, respectively. A handful of spin-off entries in thebest-selling Capcom serieshave either debuted or been ported to Nintendo consoles, as well, includingMonster Hunter Frontier,Monster Hunter Stories1and2, andMonster Hunter Diary: Poka Poka Airou Village.
Monster Hunter Rise Proved That the Series Still Goes Great With Nintendo Consoles
While the majority ofMHtitles that have been released on Nintendo systemsaren’t as expansive as more recent mainline installments in the series, the 2021 Switch release ofMonster Hunter Riseproved in many fans' eyes that the franchise was still more than suitable on the console manufacturer’s underpowered hardware, even withWorld’s modern sensibilities in mind. In fact, the game was such a good fit on a handheld like the Switch that it ended up being a system seller for the platform upon its launch. Indeed,Risesold upwards of 7-8 million units on the Switch alone when it was exclusive to the console.
With how wellMonster Hunter Risesold on Nintendo Switch, it seems like a no-brainer for Capcom to bringMonster Hunter Wildsto Nintendo’s next console, if it’s powerful enough to handle it. It’s possible, however, that the publisher might ditch a Nintendo release and prefer totake full advantage of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/Sinstead, as it may not want a potentially weaker console to limit the scope of the world it’s crafting in the game. Even ifMonster Hunter Wildsdoesn’t come to the Switch 2 day-one, though, it’s still possible that Capcom may opt to bring the game over eventually, whether that be via a native port or a cloud-only release.
Monster Hunter Wilds
WHERE TO PLAY
The unbridled force of nature runs wild and relentless, with environments transforming drastically from one moment to the next. This is a story of monsters and humans and their struggles to live in harmony in a world of duality.Fulfill your duty as a Hunter by tracking and defeating powerful monsters and forging strong new weapons and armor from the materials you harvest from your hunt as you uncover the connection between the people of the Forbidden Lands and the locales they inhabit.The ultimate hunting experience awaits you in Monster Hunter Wilds.
