Introducing “Monster Hunter Now” Niantic and CAPCOM team up to bring Monster Hunter to the real world in September 2023 – Niantic Labs

Authored by nianticlabs.com and submitted by Lazy-Enthusiast16

Monster Hunter Now will be distributed by Niantic and licensed by CAPCOM. The global launch is scheduled for September 2023 and the game will be available on the App Store and Google Play. Interested players can sign up now at monsterhunternow.com for a chance to be selected for upcoming closed beta tests of the game.

For anyone who’s ever dreamed of hunting monsters in the real world, “Monster Hunter Now” brings that fantasy to life. Taking the role of a hunter, players will venture forth and team up with fellow players in order to take down the fiercest monsters in the world, adding a social element to the thrilling experience. Since “Monster Hunter Now” can be played on smartphones, you can easily invite your friends to join.

Monster Hunter is CAPCOM’s most popular video game franchise with more than 90 million units sold globally, and is one of the most popular action role-playing game series of all time.

“Monster Hunter Now is a new and unprecedented Monster Hunter game that entices players to go out with their Palico and encounter incredible monsters in the real world,” said Ryozo Tsujimoto, Producer of the Monster Hunter series for CAPCOM. “Niantic’s AR technology delivers a ‘here and right now’ hunting experience, something that can be played casually, while honoring the game play and hunting action that only Monster Hunter can offer. Let’s get out into the real world and enjoy hunting!”

“Monster Hunter Now will be the ultimate experience for anyone who has dreamed of facing off against epic monsters and battling them with friends,” said John Hanke, Founder and CEO of Niantic. “Filled with fantastical creatures, engrossing hunting and opportunities for teamwork, with the best possible graphics on mobile devices, Monster Hunter Now is the perfect franchise to bring into the real world.”

Monster Hunter Now is designed for everyone to enjoy at their own pace, whether you are a long-time Monster Hunter player, someone who hasn’t played for a while, or even a newcomer to the series. You can also play when and where you want. For instance, in Monster Hunter Now, there’s an item called the Paintball. By using a Paintball on a monster that you encounter, you can bring the monster back home and hunt it alone or with someone else. And even when you’re walking around without playing the game, your companion can mark any monsters you pass by with the Paintball, so you can enjoy hunting them even after returning home.

Built on Niantic’s Lightship platform, “Monster Hunter Now” uses industry-leading location-based technology and AR that overlays the real world with fantastical and fierce creatures.

Look for Monster Hunter Now to arrive this September!

Register to ‘Monster Hunter Now” closed beta test

For the latest news on “Monster Hunter Now”

The Monster Hunter series consists of hunting action games that pit players against giant monsters in beautiful natural environments. The series established a new genre in which players cooperate to hunt with their friends and has since grown into one of Capcom’s most popular series, with worldwide sales exceeding 90 million units shipped as of December 31, 2022.

Capcom is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment for game consoles, PCs, handheld and wireless devices. Founded in 1983, the company has created hundreds of games, including groundbreaking franchises Resident Evil™, Monster Hunter™, Street Fighter™, Mega Man™, Devil May Cry™ and Ace Attorney™. Capcom maintains operations in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Tokyo, with corporate headquarters located in Osaka, Japan. More information about Capcom and its products can be found at www.capcom.com or www.capcom-unity.com.

Niantic is building a global-scale augmented reality platform that will power the next generation of computing experiences in the real world. Our Lightship platform is the world’s first scaled AR platform, enabling developers around the world to create AR experiences for phones and new AR devices. Lightship is also the foundation for Niantic’s hit games, including Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom, NBA All-World and Ingress. For more information, visit nianticlabs.com and @nianticlabs.

Omegawop on April 18th, 2023 at 13:32 UTC »

If they worked with capcom and actually made a game that played like monster hunter but also had the functionality of going out and finding the monsters, it could be very successful among fans of the series.

The thing is, I know that it will just be some dumb screen tapper with a monhun coat of paint.

Melancholy_Rainbows on April 18th, 2023 at 12:56 UTC »

Pokemon Go only works because of the massive popularity of the IP, and even that seems to be wearing thin with Niantic's insistence on removing well-liked features.

I can't see a less popular IP doing better. I suspect Harry Potter was a bigger franchise than Monster Hunter and it flopped fairly quickly.

SolSeptem on April 18th, 2023 at 12:44 UTC »

Monster Hunter is orders of magnitude smaller than pokemon. This will never catch on as hard as pokemon go did.