Monster Hunter Wilds Becomes the Best Monster Hunter Release So Far

The fact that CAPCOM's Monster Hunter franchise is a well-established series in the videogame industry is undeniable. With titles bolstering playability for years to come, each new iteration of the franchise receives millions of supporters who stick around until the very end, inviting both new fans and die-hard veterans to sink their time into the hunt.

It was never a question, then, that the next iteration into the franchise, Monster Hunter Wilds, would become an explosive success, especially as the industry continues to grow over the years. With the previous success of the other titles, it wouldn't be a surprise that the latest entry into the mainline franchise would succeed, and numbers in the hundreds of thousands weren't only hopeful numbers but expected.

While MONSTER HUNTER RISE did take a dip in the all-time peak, and Monster Hunter: World continues to dominate its 24-hour peaks with dozens of thousands of players logging hours every day, the games would bask in only a portion of its successor's glory. The previous titles enjoyed success, there was no doubt about that, with all-time peak scores that earned them high positions in Steam-wide competitive charts, putting both of them above the hundred most-played games on Steam.

Monster Hunter: World and its player peak secured a comfortable #34 for a while before being bumped down to #36 (more on that later), whilst its less successful entry, MONSTER HUNTER RISE, still breached into the top 100, earning #60. The numbers for the Monster Hunter Wilds beta, however, painted a different story for the future of the franchise.

Monster Hunter Wilds Beta test, the official section that allowed players all around the world to begin their hunt early for stress testing both hardware and servers, managed to breach into the top 100... and surpass even the aforementioned titles. Sitting at 463,798 all-time peak, this earned Monster Hunter Wilds the title of being the tenth non-release build of a game to breach the top 100 charts on Steam.

Demo builds and test environments entering the Top 100 is a rare feat, and not only did Monster Hunter Wilds Beta test stomp its previous entries, but it stomped many in the competition, and it wasn't even close. But still, even the success of the free-to-play beta was a far cry from the full release and the all-time peaks it would acquire.

On release day, Monster Hunter Wilds achieved a whopping 1,307,976 players as its first all-time peak, a number that it might very well beat if it manages to survive its optimisation errors that have scared a few users away. All too often, titles receive new peaks days after the release, and considering how long Monster Hunter Wilds is, it might not be an impossibility to see this number beat in the future, as early as tomorrow.

If you want to learn more about our thoughts on Monster Hunter Wilds, check out our review to learn all you need to know about the experience! The game is out now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC via Steam for £59.99.