Monster Hunter Wilds has had numerous ups and downs since it launched earlier in the year, to the point where it has, arguably, become one of 2025's most divisive games.
On release, the action RPG was met with super strong review scores and positive player feedback; the finished product sported dramatic improvements over the somewhat disappointing beta tests that had taken place in the months prior.
But as hunters made their way through the main story and eventually stumbled into endgame hunts, the cracks started to show. Wilds was quite roundly criticised for its claustrophobic campaign, a general lack of challenge, and poor optimisation (especially on PC).
From there, opinions started to take a nosedive as Capcom struggled to provide immediate answers. Updates came and went, but nothing seemed to satisfy those who wanted more from the game — many having experienced the best of previous titles Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter Rise.
Over the last few months, Capcom has undoubtedly improved the experience with big updates, dropping additional monsters, quests, and activities. But as the game's dwindling sales numbers suggest, Wilds clearly lost momentum after its initial honeymoon period.
Still, the ongoing negativity hasn't stopped the title from winning big at PlayStation's annual Partners Awards in Japan. Wilds won a 'Grand Award' for "outstanding worldwide sales" (again, the vast majority of which came at launch), and was voted as one of the year's top five PlayStation games by users.
As per IGN, director Yuya Tokuda spoke after the ceremony, and was quick to thank players for their support.
"Immediately after the release, we apologised for the inconvenience caused by the volume of content and the difficulty level. Despite this, we were delighted to receive various awards, including Users' Choice awards," he said.
"We would like to thank all the players who have given their opinions and spoken warm words even in this situation. The development team was able to turn everyone's feedback into an asset and work on the update with all our strength, and I think the result was also the reason why players voted for us."
The team has obviously been trying to turn things around with Wilds, so it does feel like Tokuda's attempting to clear the air — if only for a minute.
"In order to make Monster Hunter Wilds better, the fans’ voices gave us power. There are still updates left to come, so we will continue to do our best," producer Ryozo Tsujimoto added.
Tokuda goes on to assure potentially lapsed players that Wilds is in a better state these days, commenting: "If you beat the game immediately after its release and stopped playing, I would appreciate it if you could pick it up again."
It's assumed that at some point next year, Wilds will be getting its inevitable expansion — and that'll end up being a pivotal moment for the game.
Indeed, both World and Rise benefitted massively from the endgame content and systems that their own expansions delivered, bolstering the entire experience in the process. The hope is that Wilds will, ultimately, share a similar fate — but it's definitely got a bigger mountain to climb in terms of pleasing its players.
What are your hopes for Monster Hunter Wilds going forwards? Will you be diving back in for Title Update 4 on the 16th December? Prepare for another quest in the comments section below.
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