Monster Hunter World had a recent popularity spike seemingly out of nowhere. People went out of the sewers preaching to everyone and their dog to come back to one of Capcom’s most popular titles, but what has caused this herd behavior?
Why is Everyone Playing Monster Hunter World Again?
Despite not getting any new substantial updates, MHW is suddenly back at reaching over 100k players per day. SteamCharts data show that the monthly peak number of players has almost tripled from November to December 2023, and that’s all thanks to a series of factors and announcements regarding the series.
The first reason was the mindblowing reveal trailer for Monster Hunter Wilds back in The Game Awards, on December 8, 2023. The game had the honor of being the event’s final announcement, which already makes it special by itself and would, inevitably make people want to revisit their old adventures back in World once again.
A few days later Capcom kickstarted the #ReturnToWorld campaign, where they invited players to revisit the game while also releasing guides for the 5-year-old title. Usually, this could be dismissed as an out-of-touch campaign by the company, but it actually made a lot of sense. Why not go back to a game we know and love while we all enjoy our holidays?
The campaign slowly grew and we have the numbers to prove. And remember that SteamCharts only accounts for PC players, so the actual player count should be even higher with consoles. It also helps a lot that the game was currently having one of its best historical sales at the time.
Capcom is now hosting a weekly Return To World stream, and popular content creators like Asmongold have also dipped their toes into the game recently. This all helps spread the word of World out there, and more people will be willing to play it again.
And more important than that: Monster Hunter World is a great game to enjoy with your friends. If every returning player invited at least one friend to play with them, the player count would potentially double. A lot of people enjoy playing alone, but co-op teams are still a huge chunk of the player base.
It was the perfect storm. Everything aligned perfectly for MHW’s triumphant return. But to be honest, it’s not like the game was even dead. Over 40,000 players monthly on PC alone is still a lot. But tripling these numbers with no actual updates, DLC or expansions is something to be proud of.
So yeah, this might be the perfect time to get back into Monster Hunter World, especially if you’re excited about the upcoming release of Wilds in 2025. And if you haven’t given the game a chance yet, this might also be the time to do it, regardless of your platform!
