Capcom Describes Porting Monster Hunter Wilds to Switch 2 as a Challenging Endeavor

Among the various titles making their way to the Switch 2, *Monster Hunter Wilds* stands out as a potential showstopper. With its expansive open world, a plethora of unique action animations, and smooth online multiplayer for epic boss battles, it promises to deliver an engaging experience. While many *Monster Hunter* games have graced Nintendo handhelds, this one is particularly noteworthy as it was originally designed for high-end consoles and PCs. Capcom aims to ensure that the Switch 2 version of *Monster Hunter Wilds* is not just a scaled-down port, but a complete rebuild that retains as much of the original experience as possible.

Producer Genki Sunano emphasized in a recent interview that the goal was to create a genuine *Monster Hunter Wilds* experience tailored for the Switch 2. “We didn’t want it to feel like a simple port, where the graphics or performance had merely been scaled down,” he explained. “Instead, our aim was to deliver the *Wilds* experience on Switch 2 without compromising its essence.”

The performance target for *Monster Hunter Wilds* on Switch 2 is to achieve a stable 30 FPS in handheld mode, even during intense four-player hunts. Sunano noted that the game is filled with numerous elements, requiring careful evaluation of assets and processing to determine what could be adjusted without altering the core experience. “This meticulous process of making decisions and optimizations was one of our biggest challenges in ensuring a comfortable handheld experience while keeping the spirit of *Wilds* intact,” he said.

One significant aspect of this effort involved rebuilding certain assets and shaders from the ground up for the Switch 2. The team is focused on creating “more efficient implementations” while striving to maintain the game’s original aesthetic, ensuring that players on Switch 2 enjoy a comparable experience to those on other platforms. When modifying visual-effect assets, they ensured that the new versions still matched existing hitboxes and collision detection.

“Throughout this process, we concentrated our resources on elements that directly impact gameplay,” Sunano stated. “We also revisited areas we had previously deemed optimized for home consoles. To adapt the game for handheld hardware, we reassessed every aspect and replaced certain visual techniques and internal processing with more efficient solutions. The insights gained from this project will inform performance enhancements for existing platforms as we approach the release of *Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance*.”

While the advantages of this development process will be specific to the Switch 2 ports, the lessons learned could also influence how Capcom approaches development on other platforms. Players will see the results of these efforts when *Monster Hunter Wilds* launches on Nintendo’s console on December 4.