Monster Hunter Wilds: Is Crossplay Finally Here?

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Due to the previous games in the Monster Hunter series having such success, it’s reasonable to ask if Monster Hunter Wilds will allow crossplay and cross-progression. Monster Hunter Wilds is the latest addition to Capcom’s popular monster-hunting franchise, which gained a significant foothold in the Western market with the launch of Monster Hunter World in 2018. Since then, the main series has grown with the introduction of the Iceborne expansion for World in 2019 and the release of Monster Hunter Rise on Nintendo Switch consoles in 2021. A year after its initial release on PC, Monster Hunter Rise became available on current and previous-generation PlayStation and Xbox consoles in 2022.

It’s important to mention that in 2022, the game Rise got an expansion called Sunbreak, significantly increasing its content. Despite the wealth of content and playtime provided by the main series (excluding spin-off titles such as Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin), these Capcom games have never supported crossplay or cross-progression. Now, with changes to its systems in Monster Hunter Rise, there’s renewed optimism about the possibility of connecting different platforms, a feature that is common in today’s AAA games.

Monster Hunter Wilds Will Have Crossplay At Launch

The New Game Will Not Have Cross-Save & Cross-Progression

In contrast to earlier games in the series, it’s been officially announced that Monster Hunter Rise will offer crossplay functionality from its launch onwards. This means that, come February 28, gamers can link up with players across different platforms, creating a unified hunting experience. Capcom confirmed this exciting development in an interview with Multiplayer.it. For the first time in the series, this will enable players to team up with hunters from other platform ecosystems to slay monsters together.

In Monster Hunter Wilds, while players can enjoy crossplay for the first time, they won’t have the option for cross-save or cross-progression. This implies that if a player initiates a campaign on one platform, they won’t be able to continue it on another platform. Instead, they would need to start a fresh save and campaign all over again if they wish to play on a different platform. However, they can still join their friends in the game across various platforms due to crossplay. Unfortunately, their character progression does not carry over between these platforms.

Monster Hunter Wilds Is The First In The Series With Crossplay

Lobbies Will Be Larger With The Feature

The unique aspect of Monster Hunter Wilds featuring crossplay is groundbreaking within the series and serves as a significant milestone for the franchise’s future development. This is expected to attract more interest towards the multiplayer element during hunts, which plays a crucial role in certain monsters. Additionally, Monster Hunter Wilds will allow for larger player lobbies, accommodating up to 100 hunters simultaneously. To put it into perspective, World supported lobbies of only up to 16 players.

Introducing crossplay into the series, particularly within Monster Hunter Wilds, is expected to significantly enhance the game’s multiplayer experience and may even change how players engage with the game. Cooperative monster-hunting is usually more effective with companions, and with crossplay and large 100-player lobbies, Monster Hunter Wilds could be one of the most outstanding entries in the series for connecting with fellow hunters on the battlefield.

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2025-02-24 17:28