Unleashing the Wilds: How Monster Hunter Wilds Revolutionizes Crossplay Gaming

It is an important step in a changing environment where video games are becoming more unified than they have ever been, and crossplay is an important step in making that happen. Following several announcements and updates, Capcom recently confirmed that Monster Hunter Wilds will include crossplay opportunity between PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S players. This is a monumental step worth exploring because Monster Hunter Wilds is not just a regular game. It is a game that lays the foundation for the future where the game is the platform, not necessarily the console.

Breaking Down the Barriers: MONSTER HUNTER WILD'S Crossplay Features

Capcom’s official support for crossplay via Monster Hunter Wilds marks both a progression and a significant first for any game. The ability to matchmake against fellow hunters on PC via Steam and simultaneously on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S shows that game companies are serious about bringing players together. The ability to turn it off in-game and customise your gaming experience is also a positive step towards more inclusive gaming.

Forging Friendships Across Platforms

One of the most compelling elements of Monster Hunter Wilds is the way it builds friendships across platforms. The very design of the game encourages players to join forces with hunters from other consoles, creating a more inclusive space for all. This is emblematic of the game’s focus: to unite players all over the world so they can collaborate in hunting the mighty beasts.

The Limitations: A Tale of Separate Journeys

While the triple crossplay functionality is groundbreaking, Capcom has also pointed out an important caveat: there is no cross-save (cross-progression). Save data, such as game progress and paid DLC, can’t be shared across devices, keeping players’ adventures locked in the ecosystem of the device they started on. This is a downside for sure, but at the same time highlights just how technically and logistically challenging it can be to create a true cross-platform experience.

The Evolution Continues: MONSTER HUNTER WILDS in Development

With Monster Hunter Wilds, still in development, Capcom has been open about the ways that more information (and potentially new features) could be on the way as the game comes together. The path from concept to release is nebulous at best, and Capcom is keeping their options open.

A Community Enamored: Beyond the Hunt

Sure, monsters are the stars of the show, but when a new NPC (a blacksmith named Gemma the Smithy) introduced by Capcom compels fans to reclassify the game on Steam to the apparently more appropriate ‘Dating Sim’, the unusual relationship between the game’s developer and the community reaches a new level of detail, silliness and sweetness, indicative of how much players love the gameworld and the monster inhabitants who share it.

The Anticipation Builds: A Release on the Horizon

As we await the release of Monster Hunter Wilds for Xbox, PS5 and PC through Steam in 2023, anticipation for the latest iteration in the series is building. New monsters, new biomes and new cross-platform co-op are set to build upon what some consider one of the most successful gaming series of the entail.

Exploring the Essence of MONSTER

The monster is at the centre of the hex, and indeed of every Monster Hunter game: monsters are the challenges that players have to learn, master and defeat. The monster itself is not just an obstacle, it is part of the game’s ecology, and will either kill you, or allow you to kill a much bigger thing, and then you’ll get better armour and be able to go and kill another even bigger thing. The better the monster (and the bigger the thing) the more satisfying the hunt will be, so every monster presents its own challenge and reward.

Conclusion

Overall, Capcom’s Monster Hunter Wilds is an amazing example of the excellent direction games are going in, blending together an amazing immersive gameplay experience with crossplay and an extremely vibrant community all bound together by one amazing web of interactivity and connection. Though it’s held back by the unfortunate lack of cross-save, the game’s features and the hype surrounding it inspire confidence that this game will have a massive positive impact. Monster Hunter Wilds will be an amazing game when it finally arrives that will define in people’s minds what it means to be part of the global gaming community.