With Monster Hunter: World selling 16.4 million units and becoming Capcom’s most successful game of all time, it was only natural that we’d see a sequel to the game. Years passed and the world finally received news of that happening – with a promising new game slated for a 2021 release.
While the game came out on the Nintendo Switch before any other platform, it has already been confirmed that the game will indeed still see a PC release too, even though it’s not yet confirmed for any other platform yet such as the PlayStation or Xbox.
Of course, when there’s the announcement of a game coming out – there’s the question of when the game is slated for release. And since the game is already out on one system, it just raises further confusion regarding the exclusivity period involved.
Don’t worry, we already know when the game is coming out on the glorious PC platform – and we’re here to bring the news to you. So, let’s get into the facts and answer the question of when Monster Hunter: Rise is coming to PC right now!
Monster Hunter: Rise Exclusivity Explained
Before we get into the release date for PC, let’s take a moment to talk about why this happened in the first place.
As we know, the Nintendo Switch is one of the best-selling video game consoles in the world right now, often outselling the PlayStation and Xbox brands. It’s certainly no surprise given the fact that the console has been actively supported by Nintendo all the way from the eighth generation of gaming and now it’s as relevant as ever even in the ninth gen – actively being supported with new games.
Monster Hunter: World was an extremely popular game, but unfortunately the Nintendo Switch cannot handle the game due to the fact it was not made with the Switch in mind and has very high-resolution textures alongside an expansive open-world.
So, Nintendo needed at least one Monster Hunter title on their platform since there was even one exclusively made for the Nintendo 3DS back in the days, called Monster Hunter 4 (which went out to get an updated edition titled Ultimate).
Thus, Nintendo struck a deal with Capcom to not only get a new Monster Hunter game that runs properly on the Switch – but also got an exclusivity contract that keeps the game away from other platforms for a certain amount of time.
Of course, this does mean the game looks a bit worse than World since it has to run on a Switch. But fortunately, the engineers at Capcom are excellent and it still looks good enough and features an open-world environment.
Not to mention that it has tons of new features, such as using Wirebugs to traverse the game around. There are also new monsters and companions that can be mounted and rode to both travel and fight in battle.
Now that we have the explanation as to why the game is exclusive, let’s talk about the PC release date and how long the game is exclusive for.
Monster Hunter: Rise PC Release Date
The exclusivity contract with Nintendo requires Monster Hunter: Rise to remain on the Nintendo Switch – but only for a temporary amount of time. According to Capcom, a version for PC (Microsoft Windows) is being developed due to demand from long-time fans and it will be released sometime in the first half of 2022.
So, while an exact date is not present, we’ve been told that the game will be released in the second quarter of the next year, which is 2022.
Gamers have a few concerns even though the game is coming out on PC anyway, which are about the fact that Monster Hunter: Rise clearly looks worse than the previous game currently available on every platform. However, Capcom taking its time to develop the PC version might mean that the graphical limitations will be removed since even fan mods can add extra textures to a game – so it’s nothing unheard of.
Besides, the game has its own unique art-style and atmosphere so it’s not just a needless sequel anyway – which means that World will still be relevant in its own right.
And that’s the conclusion to our guide regarding the Monster Hunter: Rise PC release date. We hope that you’re just as excited about the PC release as we are, and while you’re here, don’t forget to check out some of our other articles too!
Read next: The 10 Best Weapons to Use In Monster Hunter World
