Monster Hunter Wilds Dev Capcom Is Trying to Tame Beastly PC Requirements

With Monster Hunter Wilds' February 28th release approaching, Capcom is actively investigating ways to reduce the recommended GPU specifications.

This announcement, originating from the official German Monster Hunter X/Twitter account, also hints at the potential release of a dedicated PC benchmarking tool.

Currently, Capcom suggests an Nvidia GTX 1660 Super or AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT for achieving 30 FPS at 1080p. This minimum configuration necessitates an internal resolution of 720p, upscaling to 1080p via DLSS or FSR at the lowest graphical settings.

For a smoother 60 FPS experience at 1080p with upscaling and Frame Generation technologies, Capcom cites the RTX 2070 Super, RTX 4060, and AMD RX 6700 XT as examples. However, only the RTX 4060 natively supports Nvidia Frame Generation; the 2070 Super and 6700 XT rely on FSR 3, which, as noted in the previous beta, exhibited ghosting artifacts.

Targeting 60 FPS with Frame Generation might not be optimal. Digital Foundry recommends a 40 FPS baseline for third-person games. Running below 60 FPS with upscaling can introduce noticeable latency and impact responsiveness.

The open beta revealed performance struggles for players using lower-end hardware, including mid-range cards like the RTX 3060. A prevalent issue was a low-level-of-detail (LOD) bug affecting texture loading for characters and monsters.

Monster Hunter Wilds utilizes Capcom's RE Engine, initially launched with Resident Evil 7 in 2017. This engine powered successful titles like Devil May Cry 5, Monster Hunter Rise, and Street Fighter 6, demonstrating strong cross-platform performance.

However, the RE Engine's performance in larger open-world games with numerous NPCs and enemies, such as the anticipated Dragon's Dogma 2, has raised concerns. Capcom's efforts to lower GPU requirements could be crucial for Monster Hunter Wilds' PC reception, given the upcoming beta and launch.