Monster Hunter Wilds has smashed records faster than a hammer main breaking monster parts. Just one day after launch, Capcom’s latest beast has already attracted over 1.3 million concurrent players on Steam alone, making it the seventh most-played game on the platform ever—outpacing juggernauts like Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and Baldur’s Gate 3.
But beneath the impressive numbers and critical acclaim lurks a familiar shadow. As players flood into the Forbidden Lands, many are discovering that their high-end hardware isn’t enough to tame this particular beast. Sound familiar? It should, because we’ve been here before.
Seven years after Monster Hunter: World stumbled out of the gate with optimization issues, history is repeating itself in the most frustrating way possible. It seems some lessons are harder to learn than others—even for a company that’s been hunting monsters since 2004.
Monster Hunter Wilds repeats World’s optimization nightmare
The numbers don’t lie—Monster Hunter Wilds is a massive hit, nearly tripling World’s all-time peak player count within hours of release. But peek beneath the surface, and you’ll find a Steam rating hovering around a tepid 50% positive. The culprit? Performance issues that would make even the mightiest hunter throw their controller.
Players with top-tier hardware are reporting frame rates that would make a slideshow look smooth. As one Steam reviewer put it succinctly: “Fun game, god awful performance.” Not exactly the kind of “game balance” Capcom was aiming for (we hope).
The most baffling part is that many players can’t understand why the game runs so poorly given how it looks. One particularly frustrated hunter noted:
The game does not look nearly good enough to warrant this performance. If I can run KCD2 and Cyberpunk on maxed out settings comfortably, there’s no reason this game should be running like this. Embarrassing. I’ve played games on my Deck that look better than this.
Capcom‘s response has been predictably underwhelming—a troubleshooting guide suggesting players update their drivers, turn off compatibility mode, and “readjust settings.” Revolutionary advice that absolutely nobody has ever thought of before:
Hunters! If you’re experiencing any initial issues with Monster Hunter Wilds on Steam, please try updating your graphics driver, turning off compatibility mode, and then readjust your settings.
Thank you all for your patience and support!
More details:https://t.co/v6g7UwFXpj
— Monster Hunter Status (@MHStatusUpdates) February 28, 2025
What makes this situation particularly maddening is that Monster Hunter fans have seen this exact same movie seven years ago with Monster Hunter: World. That game eventually received patches that fixed many of its performance woes, but the fact that Capcom has stumbled into the same pit trap twice suggests they weren’t paying attention the first time around.
The industry’s growing reliance on post-launch fixes
The frustrating reality is that Capcom isn’t alone in this approach. More and more publishers seem comfortable releasing games in technically compromised states, promising fixes down the line while players serve as unpaid QA testers.
Bethesda’s Starfield launched with performance issues so severe that when players complained, Todd Howard suggested they simply “upgrade” their systems. STALKER 2 arrived in what many considered a “beta state,” with traversal stutters that persist despite multiple patches. Even the Until Dawn remake shipped with crashes, save corruption, and broken ray tracing features.
The RE Engine that powers Monster Hunter Wilds has proven itself capable in more linear games like Resident Evil and Devil May Cry 5, but seems to buckle under the weight of open-world environments. We saw similar issues with Dragon’s Dogma 2 last year—another Capcom title that struggled with performance at launch.
It’s particularly frustrating when other developers manage to launch their complex games in highly polished states. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 released with remarkable optimization despite its dense open world. Warhorse Studios proved it can be done—if you’re willing to put in the work before release rather than after.
The sad truth? Capcom knows players will stick around. Monster Hunter: World eventually became their best-selling game despite its rocky start. Why invest in proper optimization when you can patch it later and still break sales records?
What’s your experience with Monster Hunter Wilds so far? Are you enjoying the hunt despite the technical issues, or are you waiting for patches before diving in? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
