TheMonster Hunterfranchise is going strong right now, with lots to look forward to in the near future.Monster Hunter Wildsis rapidly approaching while giving fans plenty of tantalizing previews, and a brand newMonster Huntermobile game was just announced. DubbedMonster Hunter Outlanders, it is the most ambitious lookingMonster Huntertitle to hit phones and tablets yet. WhileMonster Hunter Wildsis still top priority for veteran fans,Monster Hunter Outlandersis attempting to appease those same fans while enticing newcomers with brand-new elements.
Jointly made byCall of Duty: MobileandPokemon Unitedeveloper TiMi Studio Group and Capcom,Monster Hunter Outlandersis another crack at an open worldMonster HunterlikeWilds, but with a twist. This appears to be a more traditional “wide” open world where players can scale everything they see instead ofMonster Hunter Wilds’ larger areaswithin a more traditionalMonster Huntermap.Outlandersalso introduces survival crafting elements like base-building and special tools alongsideMonster Hunter’s usual item crafting. However,Monster Hunter Outlanders’ biggest departure isn’t from consoleMH, but from its mobile predecessor,Monster Hunter Now.
How Monster Hunter Now Paved The Way For MH Outlanders
Developed byPokemon Gocreator Niantic,Monster Hunter Nowwas released for iOS and Android in September 2023 and is still in operation. As of June 05, 2025,Monster Hunter Nowhas amassed over 15 million downloads, surpassing other Niantic games likePikmin Bloomby a wide margin while still trailing tens of millions of installs behind the cultural phenomenon that isPokemon Go. Like many Niantic games,Monster Hunter Nowuses Niantic’s GPS-integrated augmented reality technologyto turn neighborhoods into hunting maps traversed in real life by traveling players.
Where Monster Hunter Now Hits Its Limits
MH Nowwas a successful adaptation ofMonster Hunterin the mobile space, and compressed its complex hunting experience down into something that anyone could enjoy anywhere. However,Monster Hunter Now’s greatest strengthis also its greatest weakness. There is no mistakingMH Nowfor a regularMonster Hunter, especially with its large monster battle length cut from 20 to 50 minutes down to 75 seconds. Speed and convenience were traded for depth, and even after a year of updates,MH Nowstill hasn’t matched baseMonster Hunter World’s stable of weapons types and monsters. It’s a noble effort, butMonster Hunter Outlanderslooks more like the real deal.
Monster Hunter Outlanders Bridges The Gap Between MH Now and MH Wilds
While the full extent of its mechanics and gameplay isn’t known yet,Monster Hunter Outlanderslooks much more like a facility of a traditionalMonster HunterthanMH Nowever will be. Its combat was allegedly optimized for accessibility, butOutlandersstill seems to captureMonster Hunter’s standard combatwith all of its complex interactions.Outlanders’ unique features also seem mostly additive rather than subtractive; whipping out special tools, weapons, and animal follower assists in combat is a lot more thanMH Now’s pared-down fights can muster.
Monster Hunter Outlandershas been implied to be a character-based gacha game likeGenshin Impact, but details are still sparse.
All of that being said,Monster Hunter Outlandersmay not have been as primed for success as it is withoutMonster Hunter Now. Niantic’s ability to penetrate the casual gamer market can’t be understated, and it is remarkable how theMonster Huntercore is still visible inNow’s compressed scale. Even though these projects both come from considerably different mobile developers,Monster Hunter NowandOutlanderssmoothly cover each other’s weaknesses while also gradually bridging the gap between mobile and consoleMonster Hunter.Monster Hunter Outlandersrepresents the next logical step afterMH Now, and hopefully it recaptures the traditionalMHexperience on mobile devices like it promises.
