Summary
Currently,Monster Hunterfans are waiting for the next chapter in the series.Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreakjust finished launching its final update on all platforms, and ended up in an impressive state like its predecessorMonster Hunter World: Iceborne. With development having shifted toward smaller updates for the past year or so, the player base is expecting news on the next generation ofMonster Hunterin the near future. No name has been confirmed for this entry, but many suspect it to be something like aMonster Hunter World 2.
There are several reasons for this, but one of the biggest is that, likeMonster Hunter World, it will likely target the strongest and most recent consoles at the Nintendo Switch’s expense. Pivoting to the RE Engine withMonster Hunter Risedoes mean that future games should be able to scale back to weaker hardware more easily,but aMonster Hunter World 2would likely still see a staggered release on the next Nintendo system. TheMonster Huntercommunity is expecting news soon thanks to recent hints about an unannounced Capcom game, andMonster Hunter World 2probably won’t need to do much to please them.
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Monster Hunter World 2 Would Build Upon Prior Entries
Expectations forMonster Hunter World 2are complicated, but ultimately work out to be in the game’s favor. Because it will almost certainly use the RE Engine, veteran players suspect that a wider variety of monsters will be present. Many model skeletons for different monster groups have been updated for the RE Engine over the past several years, and not all the represented creatures have even beenbrought back in a modernMonster Hunteryet. Plenty ofMonster Hunter WorldandRisemonsters can pad outWorld 2’s cast, as well as leave more resources for developing a new generation of beasts.
In addition,Monster Hunter World 2’s setting and gameplay would likely be accepted even if they turn out more basic than those inRise. The ancient Japan setting and enormous increases to mobility and player move pools were fun, but aMonster Hunterthat focuses on the series’ corewould be enough.Monster Hunter Risealso suffered from an incomplete ending at launch, so it would be best to prioritizeMH World 2releasing as a complete package before anything else.
How Monster Hunter World 2 Could Benefit From Current-Gen Consoles
What this theoreticalMonster Hunter World 2might lack in innovation, it can make up for with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series’ capabilities. Areas and monster AI should be capable of any level of complexity, on top of the best visuals and physics simulations the RE Engine can produce. Improved loading also means that hunting areas could beconnected by loading screens like in classicMonster Hunter, except with swift transitions between entire maps instead of smaller battle arenas. A pseudo-open world could finally debut inMonster Hunter World 2, and that’s not even going into the sheer vertical potential of both environments and monsters.
One other benefit to current-genMonster Hunterwill be its new multiplayer capabilities. Hunting parties could break prior size limits, even if that only happens in special endgame quests. Players in the same lobby instance could be seen across the hub and hunting maps, makingMonster Hunter World 2feel even closer to an MMO. It’s hard to say exactly what thenextMonster Hunterentry will bringto the table, but with the benefit of stronger hardware and a firm foundation built by past games,Monster Hunter World 2can still impress while staying simple.
Monster Hunter Worldis available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
