Among all announced Switch 2 ports, Monster Hunter Wilds may become one of the most impressive titles. It features a vast open world, numerous meticulously crafted action animations, and smooth online multiplayer gameplay, allowing players to challenge powerful bosses to their heart's content. Many Monster Hunter series games have appeared on Nintendo handheld platforms, but few were originally developed for high-end consoles and PC like Wilds. According to Capcom, the goal for the Monster Hunter Wilds Switch 2 version is not to downgrade graphics to run on weaker hardware, but to remake the game from the ground up, minimizing major compromises as much as possible.
In a recent interview with Kotaku, producer Genki Sunano stated, "The development philosophy for the Switch 2 version of Monster Hunter Wilds is to present an authentic Monster Hunter Wilds experience on the Switch 2. In other words, we didn't want it to feel like a simple port that compromises graphics or performance just to make the game run on the Switch 2. Instead, our goal was to bring Monster Hunter Wilds to the Switch 2 without sacrificing the gameplay experience."
He stated that the performance target for the Switch 2 version of Monster Hunter Wilds is a stable 30 frames per second in handheld mode, even during four-player co-op hunts.
"Wilds contains a massive amount of elements, so we had to carefully evaluate the assets and underlying processing for each element to determine what needed to be retained and what could be adjusted without changing the overall experience. This detailed, sometimes seemingly endless process of decision-making and optimization, allowing us to preserve the unique charm of Wilds while crafting a comfortable handheld experience, became one of our biggest challenges."
One example of this meticulous production process is that they rebuilt certain assets and shaders from scratch for the Switch 2 version. The team worked on designing "more efficient implementations" while preserving the game's original visuals as much as possible, ensuring that Switch 2 players receive the same high-quality gaming experience as players on other platforms, without any disadvantages. When the team modified content such as visual effect assets, they ensured that the new versions remained compatible with existing hitboxes and collision detection mechanisms.
"Through this process, we concentrated our resources on areas that directly impact the gameplay experience. At the same time, we took a deeper look at areas we previously believed were sufficiently optimized for home console hardware. To ensure the game runs smoothly on handheld hardware, we re-evaluated every aspect of these areas and replaced certain visual techniques and internal processing methods with more efficient solutions. We plan to apply the knowledge and experience gained from this project to performance optimizations for existing platforms before the release of Monster Hunter Wilds."
Capcom's producer stated that the benefits of this development process are limited to the Switch 2 port, but this learning experience may also help them consider game development for other platforms.
We'll know if it was all worth it when Monster Hunter Wilds launches on Nintendo consoles on December 4th.