Mhw

Monster Hunter World ships 5m copies over launch weekend

Bringing Monster Hunter to home consoles is looking like one of Capcom’s smartest moves in a while as the latest instalment in the series, Monster Hunter World, has shipped over 5 million copies since its global launch last week.

Capcom have said the sales figures for the first three days after launch are the highest for any game in the history of the franchise, which has almost exclusively catered to Nintendo consoles since the release of Monster Hunter Tri on Wii in 2009. The game is the first Monster Hunter title to be launched on PlayStation in 12 years, and is a series first for an Xbox console of any kind. It is also the first time a series entry has been released simultaneously in Japan, Europe and The Americas—in the past, release in western markets usually comes months after the game’s Japanese debut.

Despite only having just launched, Capcom has promised an onslaught of updates and support for Monster Hunter World over the coming months. Already on the horizon is Street Fighter V-inspired armour, which allows players to dress their hunters up as Ryu or Sakura, as well as free update this spring which will introduce the beastly Deviljho. Not to mention the upcoming Hollywood movie adaptation developed by Paul W. S. Anderson and the team behind the Resident Evil film franchise.

In an attempt to inspire some real-life monster hunting, the publisher has also pledged to give £50,000 to any hunters who can provide substantial proof that any one of 10 elusive beasts of folklore exist. The list, created in partnership with The Centre of Fortean Zoology, includes enigmatic creatures such as the Loch Ness Monster, the Cornish Owlman and the blood-sucking beast known as Chupacabra. Hunters have until 30 June to submit any evidence.

Monster Hunter World, which is available now on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A PC release is planned for later this year.