Why is Monster Hunter: World popular again?

It's a great time to be a Monster Hunter.

Hunters fighting a monster in Monster Hunter: World
Image via Capcom

Six years after its explosive launch in January 2018, Monster Hunter: World is making a resurgence. The action-packed RPG was always popular, but lately, more people are enjoying World than they have been in years.

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If you’re wondering why Monster Hunter: World is on the rise again, we have the answers you seek.

A promotional image of a monster fight from Monster Hunter: World.
Now’s a great time to jump back into World. Image via Capcom

World is so popular right now because the next game in the series, Monster Hunter: Wilds, was revealed at The Game Awards in December 2023. Wilds won’t come out until 2025, so in the meantime, Capcom launched a campaign to reinvigorate community interest in Monster: Hunter World.

Posting on X, formerly Twitter, on Dec. 11, Capcom said “it’s time to relive the hunts & journey we’ve taken since 2018 as we look forward to the next generation,” and shared the #ReturntoWorld hashtag. World was also discounted to just $10 during the Steam Winter Sale. Following the Game Awards announcement, X post, and seasonal price cut, Monster Hunter: World’s player count massively shot up on Steam. At the time of writing, World is enjoying a 24-hour peak of over 136,000 players—three times the November player count.

Monster Hunter: Wilds looks like a big step up over 2018’s World. You can ride mounts, carry two weapons at once, and even glide, and it looks like Wilds boasts a world that’s far more open than its predecessors. Fan reactions to the trailer were overwhelmingly positive, so it’s not surprising players are hungry for more monster-hunting action. If you’re among them, World is absolutely still worth playing in 2024, so I wholeheartedly recommend that you give it a go.

Author
Image of Tom Foley
Tom Foley
Tom is the UK Associate Editor for Dot Esports. He's the former TCG Editor for CBR and holds a Master's degree in Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh. Tom spent six years as a Science Editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, and AstraZeneca before leaving science to pursue his dream career in games journalism at the start of 2023. He loves MMOs, RPGs, TCGs, and pretty much every game by FromSoftware—especially Dark Souls.