Monster Hunter Wilds: A Million Concurrent Players Despite Launch Issues
Monster Hunter Wilds has achieved over 1 million concurrent players on Steam, a remarkable feat despite receiving mixed reviews. This surpasses the peak player counts of its predecessors, Monster Hunter World (334,684) and Monster Hunter Rise (231,360). However, the game's Steam page currently shows a "Mixed" rating, with only 57% positive reviews out of 54,669. Negative feedback largely centers on poor PC optimization and performance issues.
Addressing Player Concerns
Capcom has acknowledged the criticism regarding PC performance. The official Monster Hunter Status account on Twitter (X) responded on February 28, 2025, directing players to their support website for troubleshooting steps. These include updating graphics drivers, installing the latest Windows updates, and performing a clean video driver installation. Further assistance is offered through a dedicated Steam community thread.
Game-Breaking Bug and Hotfixes
A critical bug impacting story progression has been identified, preventing the appearance of a vital NPC in Main Mission: Chapter 5-2, "A World Turned Upside Down." Capcom (via Monster Hunter Status on March 2, 2025) confirmed awareness of this issue and is actively working on a resolution. Additional issues, such as inaccessible "Grill a Meal" and "Ingredient Center" features, and problems accessing the Smithy, have also been addressed with hotfixes across various platforms.
Microtransactions for Character Customization
Character and Palico appearance customization is gated behind microtransactions. A "Character Edit Voucher Three-Voucher Pack" costing $6 allows three character creation restarts, available across all digital storefronts. While basic adjustments like hair, eyebrow, and facial color remain free, more extensive changes require purchasing this voucher or a $10 pack offering three edits for both character and Palico. Despite this, Capcom is providing a single free character edit voucher. The inclusion of these microtransactions was previously announced.
Availability and Further Information
Monster Hunter Wilds is currently available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. For the latest updates and news, refer to additional resources [link to article would go here].
