Pokemon Go developer Niantic and Capcom have announced Monster Hunter Now, a real-world action RPG mobile game that is set to be released in September 2023 on iOS and Android devices that will allow you and your friends to take down iconic monsters like the Rathalos and Great Jagras on your next walk around the neighborhood.
IGN and other members of the press were able to attend a hands-off presentation of Monster Hunter Now and the team made it very clear that they want to keep the best parts of Monster Hunter intact during the transition to the mobile space. Additionally, Monster Hunter Now is meant to be accessible to newcomers and veterans of the franchise alike.
Some of these veterans and newcomers will be able to test that promise for themselves as Monster Hunter Now’s closed beta will begin on April 25. Players can register for the beta on MonsterHunterNow.com and the team confirmed that those accepted will be able to battle monsters with the Sword and Shield, Great Sword, and Light Bowgun. Now, on to the game itself.
Much like Pokemon GO, Monster Hunter Now will have players encountering monsters as they walk around the real world. However, it differs from Pokemon GO when the battles take place as it becomes an action RPG that is reminiscent of its console counterpart, if a bit simplified. Via taps and flicks, players will be able to use their favorite weapons to take down massive monsters in a stylish and powerful way. Niantic also teased that there will be a story of sorts in Monster Hunter Now and that new and familiar faces will show up along the way.
Players can adventure alone or with up to four friends, and there will be an option to team up with other hunters that are near you that are also playing Monster Hunter Now. Niantic wasn’t ready to get into all the details about how you can play with friends, especially those who may not live near you, but the multiplayer experience is a huge priority for the game.
As for the battles themselves, they will last up to 75 seconds and are aiming to be as fun and chaotic as a traditional Monster Hunter battle is. Parts will be flying off the monsters as you attack them, and the weapons and combat look similar to what fans are used to. Players will also have the choice to battle in vertical or landscape modes.
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Rewards from those battles will be resources and monster parts that, in traditional Monster Hunter fashion, will let players create and upgrade gear that they can then take with them to battle to become more powerful and repeat that loop again.
Two other integral parts of Monster Hunter Now are your Palico companion and the Paintball mechanic. The Palico, which fans of the franchise will recognize as the wonderful cat-like creatures, will accompany each player on their adventures and will also be able to utilize the aforementioned Paintball mechanic.
Monster Hunter Now encourages players to get out and walk around their hometowns, by their work, on their travels, and much more. However, things may pop up that will prevent you from finishing a battle or encountering a particular monster. With the Paintball mechanic, you can tag a monster and then finish that battle once you get home or whenever it is more convenient for you.
Furthermore, Palicos will hunt monsters even when you aren’t playing the game and will tag them with Paintballs so you can challenge them when you are home, at work, etc. Alongside this being a very useful feature for not missing monsters, it will also give friends and family more chances to fight together when the time is right.
As for how you find the monsters to fight, there will be Wayspots/landmarks around the game world that will offer players resources when they are found. Monsters will spawn around these, but they will also appear randomly in the wild, which will be helpful for those who live in rural areas or places without a ton of landmarks.
There will also be an option use AR to see these monsters come to life in your town. In a short video shown during the presentation, we saw a player running up to meet his friends in a city and, when the camera panned up, we caught a glimpse of a massive Rathalos hovering above them with the skyline in the background.
We have opened an official Twitter account for Real-world hunting action RPG “Monster Hunter Now” from Niantic and Capcom which announced today!
Service is scheduled to begin in September 2023!🔽Apply for the closed beta test here 🔽 #MHNowhttps://t.co/eP8oR2MGPa pic.twitter.com/g8CwYQmVX3
— Monster Hunter Now (@MH_Now_EN) April 18, 2023
As previously mentioned, Monster Hunter Now will be released on iOS and Android devices in September 2023 and will be a free-to-play game with items to purchase at an additional cost. The team wasn’t willing to go into too much detail about the monetization strategy, but it was promised that there will be a “good balance” between the free experience and the one “enhanced” by the purchasing of items.
We also want to remind those interested that the Monster Hunter Now closed beta will begin on April 25 and registration is now open at MonsterHunterNow.com.
Monster Hunter Now has been in the works for about four years and it’s a project that garnered a ton of excitement right from the start. In fact, Ryozo Tsujimoto, a director and executive corporate officer at Capcom and the Monster Hunter series producer, said he can “still remember the first meeting. I immediately replied, ‘Let’s do it!” without a second thought.”
For more, check out all the details and our review of the Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak expansion, which will finally arrive on more platforms on April 28, 2023.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.