What you need to know
- Capcom has revealed new information for its upcoming action-hunting game, Monster Hunter Wilds, during the Monster Hunter Wilds Showcase October 2024 stream broadcast.
- The showcase reveals a new locale to explore, three new monsters to hunt, and an Open Beta Test for the Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam versions of Monster Hunter Wilds that will begin on October 31, 2024, and end on November 3, 2024.
- Monster Hunter Wilds will be released on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam on February 28, 2025.
We're only four months away until Capcom's highly-anticipated Monster Hunter Wilds stampedes its way onto home consoles and PC. So, Capcom has decided to build up more hype for the latest entry in the Monster Hunter series by unveiling a slew of new information for Monster Hunter Wilds in a Monster Hunter Wilds Showcase stream video. This video contains details on new locales to explore, a host of disgusting, nightmarish new monsters to hunt, and an Open Beta Test that Xbox, PlayStation, and PC players can participate in.
Here's all the details you need to know from this livestream broadcast.
The Showcase starts with a new cinematic gameplay trailer for Monster Hunter Wilds, where the player travels to a new hunting ground called the Oilwell Basin. This cavernous area is one of the more treacherous locales of the game, as rivers of flammable oil cover the whole region.
The people of Oilwell Basin's only village, Azuz, use this oil as a fuel source for their forges (including the massive and ancient Everforge) and craft extremely powerful weapons and armor for the player. The people of Azuz have also used their blacksmithing skills to build environmental traps throughout various locations within Oilwell Basin.
Players are gonna need these traps as the Oilwell Basin is home to some of the most terrifying monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds and this showcase stream has revealed three of them today.
First up is the bulbous Rompopolo, a hideous Brute Wyvern that attacks its prey with a poisonous gas breath attack. It can also puncture the ground with its tail and pump its poison gas into it to cause nearby oil rivers to erupt into geysers and cause serious damage.
The second newly revealed monster is a hot-tempered Fanged Beast known as the Ajarakan. This monkey-like beast is a full-blown brawler that attacks its prey with wild swings of its fist and bathes itself in magma to power itself so it can unleash fire-based attacks.
The final new monster revealed in this showcase is an unnamed creature that the villagers of Azuz have labelled ‘The Black Flame’. This giant Octopus-like abomination is coated head-to-tentacle in oil and is so large that it dwarves the building-sized Ajarakan and is able to pick one up as easy as a child holding a toy.
‘The Black Flame’ assaults players by strangling them with its tentacles and burning them to ashes with flamethrower breath attacks. Needless to say, this monster will be one of the toughest challenges in Monster Hunter Wilds to overcome, so it would be wise to pack in fire-resistant armor should you decide to hunt ‘The Black Flame’.
New monsters aren't the only piece of important from this showcase because Capcom have saved the best surprise for last — an Open Beta Test. Starting from October 31, 2024 (8:00pm PT), to November 3, 2024 (6:59pm PT, do note that this time is adjusted for Daylight Savings Time), Capcom will host an Open Beta Test for Monster Hunter Wilds, and it will be available on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam.
However, if you own a PlayStation Plus account on your PlayStation 5, you will get exclusive Early Access to the Open Beta Test from October 28, 2024 (8:00pm PT), to October 30, 2024 (7:59pm PT).
The content of the Open Beta Test will include character creation where you get your Hunter and Palico companion (whose appearance can be saved and transferred to the full game), the opening story mission that will introduce you to the game's setting and provide a tutorial on the combat system, and a hunting mission where you must eliminate a Doshaguma.
The Doshaguma hunting can be tackled alone, with NPC Support Hunters, or with other players online. Do note that this Open Beta Test features cross-play support, so console players will be able to hunt alongside PC players. Anyone who participates in the Open Beta Test will be rewarded with an exclusive downloadable cosmetic teddy bear pendant that can be attached to your weapons or your Seikret mount in the full game.
In addition, players who participate will also be rewarded with the 'Open Beta Test Item Pack'. This pack will contain a bundle of in-game items to help players an edge at the beginning of the full game.
These items include:
- 10x Mega Potions
- 5x Rations
- 5x Lifepowders
- 2x Max Potions
- 2x Herbal Medicines
- 2x Nulberries
- 5x Armor Spheres
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My excitement for Monster Hunter Wilds has now reached critical mass
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Out of all the new monsters revealed for Monster Hunter Wilds so far, these horrifying beasties from the Oilwell Basin are no doubt my favorites. The Rompopolo looks sickening, the Ajarakan looks intimidating and fun to fight, and 'The Black Flame' is an awesome-looking freak of nature that got me nostalgic for Monster Hunter's rare Octopus/Squid-like monsters such as Yama Tsukami from Monster Hunter Freedom Unite and the Nakarkos from Monster Hunter Generations.
On top of that, I'll finally be able to play Monster Hunter Wilds early thanks to this upcoming Open Beta Test and see what has gotten my colleague, Jez Cordon, excited when he previewed Monster Hunter Wilds at Summer Game Fest 2024.
As someone who's been looking forward to play Monster Hunter Wilds ever since it was first announced, the new info from this showcase event has sent my anticipation for this game through the roof. I cannot wait to see other surprises this game has in store when the full game launches on February 28, 2025.
Monster Hunter Wilds, the next-gen successor to one of Capcom's best Xbox games and best PC games, Monster Hunter World, is scheduled to launch on February 28, 2025, for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam.
