Monster Hunter Outlanders is gearing up for its October 29th mobile launch, but apparently, releasing one hunting game on your phone isn’t enough. Together with Netflix, Capcom is now bringing Monster Hunter Rise to Android and iOS too. This isn’t some stripped-down spin-off, either — Capcom has managed to cram the whole of Kamura Village and the full Wirebug shebang onto mobile devices.
Simply titled Monster Hunter Rise Netflix, the mobile version requires a Netflix membership and features both solo play and online multiplayer for up to four Hunters. A release date hasn’t been announced yet, but the timing is rather curious, as Rise recently passed the 20 million sales milestone worldwide. Judging from the app description, the core gameplay should remain the same. All 14 weapon types, Wirebugs, Switch Skills, and Palamutes will be present.
Unsurprisingly, though, Capcom has made several changes specifically for the Monster Hunter Rise mobile release. Most obviously, the controls have been completely rebuilt around touchscreens, with virtual joysticks and button layouts designed around each weapon’s unique moveset. The UI and visuals have also been adjusted to accommodate different smartphone and tablet screen sizes and aspect ratios.
There’s also a new Recovery Button designed to make healing even less fiddly, especially without physical buttons. Tapping it will automatically pick the most effective recovery item based on your current health and status.
Of course, Capcom isn’t exactly a stranger to putting Monster Hunter onto handheld devices. We all know the slew of Monster Hunter releases on PSP throughout its second and third generations. On the Android and iOS front, it has also released mobile-focused games ranging from Dynamic Hunting and Explore — which was recently revived through a private server — to Scopely’s Now, with Outlanders joining them soon.
Still, Monster Hunter Rise won’t be the first mainline game to make the jump to mobile. Back in 2014, the PSP’s Freedom Unite received an iOS port complete with online multiplayer. One in-house spin-off, namely Monster Hunter Stories, later made its way to iOS and Android as well, years after its 3DS debut.
At the moment, it’s not clear whether Sunbreak will also follow. And looking at the app store screenshots, Capcom had to sacrifice some of Rise‘s visual fidelity to make it run on mobile. But in any case, Hunters won’t be left hungry for hunts even when they’re out and about.
