Pokemon GO’s developer Niantic to develop Monster Hunter mobile game

Niantic has teamed up with Capcom to turn the popular RPG title Monster Hunter into an augmented-reality smartphone game set to release in September 2023.

The developers behind Pokemon Go, Niantic, have announced Monster Hunter NOW, an augmented reality game based on the popular Capcom RPG Monster Hunter. Monster Hunter Now is a real-world hunting action role-playing game that mixes a user-friendly adaptation of the traditional Monster Hunter gameplay with the augmented reality platform from Niantic’s cult hit Pokémon Go.

One of Capcom’s most successful games, Monster Hunter has seen significant growth over the last two decades, which is what spurred the gaming company to try its hand at the mobile gaming market. Capcom collaborated with TiMi Studio Group, the Tencent-owned developers behind Call of Duty: Mobile and Pokémon UNITE, in November of last year to put out a fresh Monster Hunter game for mobile devices.

Now, with the entry of Niantic, it appears that Capcom is pumped up to take its popular franchise to new heights with the help of an augmented-reality framework. Niantic, on the other hand, will try to match its own previous title Pokémon Go’s popularity, and the millions of users it’s amassed over the past seven years.

Everything we know about Monster Hunter Now

Monster Hunter Now was reportedly developed by the Niantic Tokyo team, who previously collaborated with Nintendo on the endearing Pikmin Bloom game. The game will be location-based, similar to Niantic’s immensely popular Pokémon Go, with a focus on finding and battling monsters positioned in real locations, allowing users to have an enhanced gaming experience.

Players can team up with four friends or other nearby gamers to vanquish various monsters they encounter while exploring the real world. The maximum battle period is only 75 seconds, which is short enough to be suitable for outdoor play while still preserving all the excitement and complexity of Monster Hunter battles.

The developers have only provided a brief glimpse into Monster Hunter NOW with a short teaser, which transitions from an augmented reality dragon in a metropolis to mobile gameplay with a team taking down a Monster. While the game’s gameplay mechanics are unknown, the Monster Hunter website claims that it will have a “Paintball” item that would let players tag monsters to fight them later even if they are in a completely different place.

The player’s companion, the cat-like creature known as Palico, will also be able to tag the enemies. The game’s limited beta will start on April 25 and a full release is scheduled for September 2023, according to Niantic.

Header: Niantic