Mr Viral
Image credit: Eurogamer
Excitement continues to mount ahead of Monster Hunter Wilds’ release next month, but if there’s one big question mark around the whole thing, it’s just what sort of performance improvements Capcom has been cooking up since its rather wobby public beta. And the publisher has now given a brief update on performance, alongside confirmation it’s “looking into” lowering the game’s recommended GPU requirements on PC.
Monster Hunter Wilds’ first public beta went live last October, and it immediately became clear there was still work to be done on the performance front. Players soon took to the internet highlighting everything from erratic framerates, even on decently beefy PCs, to unfortunate visual glitches making the whole thing look like Capcom’s lead platform was the N64.
At the time, the publisher moved to remind players Monster Hunter Wilds was “still in development”, offering assurances the full game was “already in a more improved state compared to the beta test”, and that it was “committed to ensuring the quality of the final product.” There was hope among fans some of these improvements might be evident in Monster Hunter Wilds’ second open beta, scheduled to run from 7th-9th February, but Capcom recently confirmed that wouldn’t be the case.
Monster Hunter Wilds Gameplay Preview – THE MOST BEGINNER-FRIENDLY MONSTER HUNTER YET!
Monster Hunter Wilds gameplay preview.Watch on YouTube
The company has, though, now provided a short update on performance, with Monster Hunter’s official German social media channel recently posting (as per Google translate) that the team “has been addressing rendering issues from the open beta test and is continually working on improvements for launch”. These assurances were accompanied by a video offering what Capcom called a “look at our updated Prioritise Performance more for PS5”, albeit not a particularly illuminating one given the less-than-stellar quality of X’s video player. Prioritise Performance mode (AKA Prioritise Framerate) targets up to 60fps on PS5 and Xbox Series X, compared to 30fps when using Prioritise Graphics mode.
Capcom also noted it’s aiming to improve PC performance in a “similar way”, and that it’s additionally “looking into whether we can lower the recommended GPU requirements”. The publisher raised a few eyebrows last September, when it revealed Monster Hunter Wilds would require an RTX 2070 Super/RTX 4060/RX 6700XT to reach 60fps (with Frame Generation) at 1080p, so word there may be improvements here – particularly given the open beta’s erratic performance on mid-range hardware – is encouraging.
Monster Hunter Wilds launches for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5 on 28th February, and the Character Creation, Story Trial and Slay Doshaguma Quest seen in last year’s first open beta will all be available again when beta #2 kicks off earlier in the month.
Eurogamer’s Ed Nightingale was quite taken with Monster Hunter Wilds’ “familiar thrill of the hunt, player customisation, and extravagant combat” when he went hands-on in August, so hopefully Capcom can iron our those remaining wrinkles before launch.
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