Monster Hunter Wilds is hosting an Open Beta this weekend, with early access for PlayStation 5 owners beginning October 28. Steam users joined the beta on October 31 at 8:00pm Pacific (11:00pm Eastern), and despite it being Halloween, the game quickly reached a peak of 463,798 concurrent players. Although the open beta test is free, this player count is still impressive. Monster Hunter: World reached an all-time peak of 334,684 players, while the more recent Monster Hunter Rise hit 231,360.
Set to launch on February 28, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, Monster Hunter Wilds is the latest entry in the long-running franchise. The series arguably only gained mainstream popularity with the release of Monster Hunter: World. This makes sense, as Capcom focused on making Monster Hunter: World more accessible, which proved successful. This weekend offers a great chance to experience Monster Hunter if you’re new to the series. he beta remains open until November 3 at 6:59pm Pacific (9:59pm Eastern).
