A newMonster Huntergame is in the works at TiMi Studio Group, best known as the developer ofCall of Duty: Mobile. The Tencent-owned studio and Capcom announced the as-of-yet-unnamed project on Tuesday, stating that the upcomingMonster Huntertitle will be a mobile exclusive.
TheMonster Hunterfranchise has been averaging more than a game per years since its 2004 debut. Its last two entries—Monster Hunter RiseandMonster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin—were both touted as some ofthe best RPGs of 2021. The series made its first foothold in the mobile space with the 2011 releases ofMonster Hunter Dynamic HuntingandMonster Hunter Exploration Journal: Phantom Island. This duo was followed by a 2012 TCGMonster Hunter With Everyone: Card Master. Capcom also ported hit 3DS gameMonster Hunter Storiesto Android and iOS in 2018.
Regarding the specifics of this newly confirmedMonster Huntergame, there’s not much to go on as of right now. The joint announcement simply states that the title will offer a “new” experience unique to the mobile format, but the only other thing it reveals is that hunting monsters will unsurprisingly still be part of the core gameplay loop. Whether that means the game won’t be an action RPG in the vein of mainlineMonster Huntergames remains to be seen. And while none of this is to say thatMonster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruinwon’t eventually follow its predecessor to mobile devices, whatever this TiMi Studio project is, it’s definitely not a port of the hit 2021 game.
The largely positive receptions of previousMonster Huntermobile spinoffs and TiMi Studio’s impressive track record—ranging fromArena of ValorandCall of Duty: MobiletoPokemon Unite—both inspire confidence in this newly announced project. At the same time, existing fans of the core series are currentlymaking a case forMonster Hunter World 2and not another mobile game, so today’s announcement is hardly in line with their hopes and expectations.
But since Capcom isn’t developing this title internally and has instead enlisted help from Tencent’s flagship mobile subsidiary, the project’s target demographic probably doesn’t have much overlap with the pool of people who are already familiar withMonster Hunterconsole and PC games. Or more specifically, the companies are likely hoping to deliver an experience with a much wider, global appeal. Fortunately for Capcom, themassive success ofCall of Duty: Mobileshows that global appeal is precisely what TiMi Studio specializes in.
