Monster Hunter Now gives Capcom’s series the Pokémon Go treatment

Capcom and Niantic have introduced a brand new collaboration: Monster Hunter Now, a “real-world hunting action role-playing game” for cellular units which mixes an accessible model of traditional Monster Hunter gameplay with the augmented actuality framework acquainted from Niantic’s smash hit, Pokémon Go. It’s due out in September on Android and iOS platforms, with a beta check starting on April 25. Registration for the beta check is open at the Monster Hunter Now web site.

Monster Hunter Now gamers will be capable of discover monsters and supplies out in the actual world as they stroll round with their telephones, workforce up with mates and strangers to hunt these monsters, and craft weapons and armor.

“The notion of majestic monsters roaming around city streets was extremely compelling as a real-world game,” Niantic’s chief product officer Kei Kawai mentioned at an internet briefing for press. The thought of an augmented actuality Monster Hunter recreation was such a no brainer that, Kawai boasted, Capcom accepted Niantic’s pitch at their first assembly. The recreation is being developed at Niantic’s Tokyo studio. It will likely be free to play, supported by in-app purchases.

Niantic and Capcom touted what they mentioned was a simplified however genuine model of the Monster Hunter series’ fight, utilizing faucets and swipes on the touchscreen. The recreation will likely be playable one-handed in portrait mode, or in a panorama presentation nearer to the console and PC Monster Hunter video games. The most battle time is simply 75 seconds, to be appropriate for outside play; Niantic senior producer Sakae Osumi mentioned it was the developer’s objective to seize all the enjoyable and problem of Monster Hunter battles on this brief window. The series’ distinctive, gameplay-altering weapon lessons stay, however gamers ought to count on to be switching between them extra continuously. “We hope users will try out different types of weapons,” mentioned Niantic Tokyo’s government director Tatsuo Nomura.

Image: Niantic/Capcom

Image: Niantic/Capcom

Image: Niantic/Capcom

Niantic’s wayspots — native factors of curiosity recognized by the Niantic neighborhood — develop into useful resource gathering factors in Monster Hunter Now, whereas gamers’ real-world atmosphere is split into completely different ecological zones, with completely different monsters and supplies occurring in every.

Players can use a “paintball” merchandise to tag monsters encountered in the actual world to hunt at residence, alone or with mates. Alternatively, their cute, catlike Palico companions can tag monsters with paintballs mechanically, even when the app is closed, to collect hunts for later.

Asked about aggressive multiplayer and potential integration with mainline Monster Hunter video games, Niantic mentioned it couldn’t couldn’t remark, however Kawai inspired followers to “please stay tuned.”

Niantic has made a number of makes an attempt to copy the profitable Pokémon Go components with different properties, with restricted success. Pikmin Bloom, with Nintendo, has been a modest hit, however the high-profile Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was shut down after lower than three years in operation.

Image: Niantic/Capcom

Image: Niantic/Capcom

Monster Hunter isn’t as well-known as Harry Potter, however the video games have steadily elevated in gross sales over the final twenty years to the level it has develop into Capcom’s greatest franchise. In Japan, the place Monster Hunter Now is being developed, the series has all the time been in style, and carefully related to handheld gaming. And the franchise is arguably higher suited to augmented actuality gameplay than some other since Pokémon.

“I strongly believe we have a hit on our hands,” Kawai mentioned. “We do want to have this game last a very long time.”