A newMonster Huntergame is just around the corner, withMonster Hunter Wildsplanned for release on Jun 24, 2025. This new title will bring theMonster Hunterfranchise into its 6th generation after a full six years spent withMonster Hunter World,Monster Hunter Rise, andMonster Hunter Now, and fans can’t wait for it to be ready. Even with some performance issues coming to light, excitement forMonster Hunter Wildshas been so high thatMonster Hunter Worldsaw a considerable sales bump, and that’s not the kind of hype that dies easily.
Previews have justified this response several times over, and it’s hard to pick out just one reason why. The new mount Seikret is a core part ofMonster Hunter Wilds, enabling hunts to play out over larger areas than ever before. On top of that, different locales will have multiple dynamic weather states that add even more variations to emergent hunts. In what seems like a shoo-in for thelargestMonster Huntergame yet,Wildshas noticeably avoided reviving an oldMonster Huntertrend, though it has both good reasons and precedent for doing so.
Monster Hunter Wilds Is Still Gambling On Its Usual Weapon Rotation
Throughout its history, theMonster Hunterfranchise has introduced 18 whole weapon types, with 14 becoming the series’ mainstays. From the classic Greatsword and Bowgun family to the weirder Gunlance and Switch Axe, every class of weapon has gathered loyal fans. AlthoughMonster Hunter Wildshas some spin-off traits, it has seen fit to keep mainlineMonster Hunter’s weapons stable as-is, just with more polish and additions. This wasn’t confirmed for most of the game’s marketing cycle, however, and that left room for fans to hope for something new to join this group after years of familiarity.
It was only the recent series of Gamescom weapon trailers, and an interview withMH Wilds’ art director Kaname Fujioka and series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto on Italian website Multiplayer.it, that de-confirmed a fifteenth weapon class forWilds. Fujioka stated that the idea of adding anew weapon type forMonster Hunter Wildswas never totally abandoned, but the development staff had so many ideas piling up forWildsthat it couldn’t take priority. Tsujimoto added that even if the developers had the time and resources to make another weapon, that would only detract from improving the expected weapons, as well asMH Wildsas a whole.
Monster Hunter Has Been Quietly Remaking Weapons For Decades
WhileMonster Hunter Wilds’ developers are sympathetic towards fans’ desires for a fresh main weapon class, and probably have plenty of ideas about what that would be, it wasn’t the right move forWilds. Some might wonder why that’s still the case after the last weapons to joinMH’s core group were the Charge Blade and Insect Glaive in 2013’sMonster Hunter 4, but Tsujimoto addressed that too.EveryMonster Hunterweapon, evenMH4’s weirdest and most recent additions, has become unrecognizable compared to its original self, and that’s only been good for deepeningMonster Hunter’s gameplay with every entry.
It Isn’t Clear If Or When Mainline Monster Hunter Will Add A New Weapon
Now thatMonster Hunter Wildshas added a new counterattack and a perfect timing mechanic to almost every weapon, on top ofMH Wilds’ universal Focus Modeand weapon switching, it isn’t clear where else this generation can go with weapon innovation.MH Wilds’ expansion will likely bring some equivalents toIceborneandSunbreak’s major new mechanics and weapon overhauls, but no more than that. Adding toMonster Hunter Wilds’ current weapon stable hasn’t been necessary due to the volume of adjustments old weapons have seen, but that still leaves future entries to weigh the risk of making fewer changes against adding a new weapon every time.
