Niantic and Capcom announce Monster Hunter Now Mobile game!

It’s been a while since we did a mobile game review, but if Niantic and Capcom’s upcoming real-world hunting action RPG lives up to the hype, we may just reboot the series, starting with Monster Hunter Now! Niantic is the studio behind the ever-so-popular Pokémon GO, and after years of success and growth, they are looking to expand their world with another awesome mobile RPG. This time, they have chosen to collaborate with another big-name company that has been around since the beginning.

Ever since the late 1970s, Capcom has been a heavy-hitter in the video game world, producing popular titles that are still adored by gamers today. Those titles include Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Mega Man, Devil May Cry, Dead Rising, and many more. One other title that they are known for is Monster Hunter, which originally came out on PlayStation 2 back in 2004. 

Today, Monster Hunter is Capcom's second highest-selling series, next to Resident Evil. So, when news broke that Capcom would be teaming up with Niantic to make a new Monster Hunter RPG for mobile, fans from both sides couldn’t wait to get a glimpse at what the two giants came up with.

As you can see, Monster Hunter turns your environment into all-out monster mayhem, giving players a high-flying action-packed adventure that they can immerse themselves in with just a click of a button on their phones. The game also allows you to team up with friends and randoms in the real world who can help you hunt down those monsters. So, if you don’t want to go monster hunting alone, you can always tap a friend or fellow hunter to join the action.

Capcom and Niantic made it clear that while this is a more modified and simplified version of the game, it still stays true to the original games in the series. The weapon classes, for instance, will look and feel very familiar to long-time players of the game, but Niantic made it clear that players will find themselves quickly alternating between those classes more and more. The whole combat system will feel very familiar as well. Battles can last as long as 1:15, making it ideal for short outdoor gameplay.

Monster Hunter Now is still being tinkered with in Niantic’s studio in Japan. While the game is set to officially release in September 2023, players will have the chance to test it out sooner than that with the closed beta that is going to be made available in just a couple of days. The closed beta will be limited to 10,000 players, who must sign up via Niantic’s website in order to be granted access. 

These invitations to test the beta will be sent out during the beta’s active period, which begins on April 25, 2023. So, if you want to be among the first to get a good first look at Monster Hunter Now, we suggest that you get your name on the list pronto. 

When Monster Hunter Now does officially launch in September, it will be free-to-play on Android and iOS devices. Let us know what you think of the game’s development so far and if you receive an invitation to test the closed beta. If/when you do gain access to the beta, feel free to return here and tell us what you thought and how it compares to the other Monster Hunter games you may have played.

Until we meet again,

Vince the Prince