The art director for tried and true Monster Hunter staples, the series has always been known for its monster designs. Each one is unique in both appearance and ability, and belongs in its surrounding terrain as well as any real-life animal. It's clear that a great deal or care is poured into these detailed creatures - but exactly how long does it take to make just one?
According to Monster Hunter Wilds' art director Kaname Fujioka in a new interview with Screen Rant, deg each monster takes roughly a year from start to finish. However, Fujioka reveals, monsters aren't designed one at a time; the team typically has several in the works at once. "Many monsters are designed and created at the same time, like parallel," Fujioka said, "so it's kind of hard to tell which monsters took how long, but typically an average from planning a monster, deg it, making the models, animation, usually takes about one year for a monster."
Monster Hunter Wilds Has The Best Features From Capcom's Best Games
Monster Hunter Wilds feels like a culmination of everything Capcom has worked on in the last few years, and one feature, in particular, shines.
However, some monsters actually take even longer. Fujioka also explained that tweaking details, refining designs, adding and removing various elements may add even more to a monster's development time. In addition, Fujioka says, Wilds' flagship monster Arkveld was especially difficult to implement owing to its complicated design and inextricable connections to the story: "The flagship monster for Monster Hunter Wilds obviously took a very long time, because it has to do with the story of the game and we wanted people to enjoy for a long time hunting this monster."
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Fujioka went on to describe further details of the monster-creating process, including which are his favorites. He was reluctant to select just one, stating that he appreciates each one's unique aspects. "All the monsters obviously [I'm] very proud of and like each of them because they have their own uniqueness." However, he does seem to have a special fondness for those who take an especially long time to create, citing Wilds' flagship monster Arkveld as one of his favorites due to the work he required and his close ties to the story. Fujioka also pointed out Black Flame as a special favorite.
In addition, Fujioka singled out monsters with truly unique aspects - things that the team might have struggled to develop across multiple games - are a particular point of pride. In previous console generations, Monster Hunter games struggled to "implement octopus-type monsters with those kind of flexible arms." It was only in Wilds that game physics and graphics had come far enough to make those work, and thus, tentacled monsters can be expected to appear in-game.
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Wilds' Design Team Has A Lot To Be Proud Of
And all that hard work shows: the few monsters we've seen thus far for Wilds, in early previews and the open beta, are impressive. Each of them is unique in its own right, unlike anything we've ever seen before in the Monster Hunter series, yet perfectly fits into the well-established monster menagerie.
Monster Hunter Wilds is scheduled for release on February 28, 2025.
Fujioka was very clear on this point: the uniqueness of each new monster is one of his top priorities, and something he routinely considers when deg new creatures for the series. In particular, he wants fans to be able to single out their favorite monsters and engage in lively debate over which is better, just as they might do their favorite Monster Hunter weapons. "[W]hen creating monsters, we want to focus on how each person will be able to find their own favorite monster," he said in his Screen Rant interview.
That's the secret behind the Monster Hunter formula: each monster is made with the care of someone who considers it their favorite. With that in mind, I couldn't be more excited to see what new creations Monster Hunter Wilds has in store.
Monster Hunter Wilds
- Released
- February 28, 2025
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Violence, Blood, Crude Humor
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Publisher(s)
- Capcom
- Engine
- RE Engine
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- Yes, all platforms
- Cross Save
- No
- Franchise
- Monster Hunter
Monster Hunter Wilds is the highly anticipated follow-up to Capcom's multi-million seller, Monster Hunter World. Announced at The Game Awards 2023, Monster Hunter Wilds will put players into a sprawling world where they'll hunt monsters to create new weapons and armor while protecting their home base and uncovering the secrets of unexplored lands with friends or alone.
- Number of Players
- 1
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- Platform(s)
- PC
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
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