Monster Hunter Wilds’ explosive launch catapults it into Steam’s all-time top 10

Capcom’s Monster Hunter Wilds has soared to a peak of over 1 million concurrent players on Steam just hours after its launch, catapulting it into the Steam record books. The game launched to an immediate audience of 880,806 players at midnight EST / 9 p.m. PST, and has climbed to a peak of 1,076,024 players at time of writing, just over seven hours later.

Amazingly, this puts Monster Hunter Wilds inside the top 10 most-played games on Steam of all time in terms of concurrent players. It sits at number 7, ahead of the all-time peaks of smash hits Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, Hogwarts Legacy, and Baldur’s Gate 3. Currently, only Counter-Strike 2 has more players on Steam, and Monster Hunter Wilds’ number is climbing steadily. Perhaps even Dota 2’s record of 1.295 million players is within reach.

But, as scorching as it is, Monster Hunter Wilds’ initial peak player count is a long way short of the record of 3.26 million set by PUBG in 2018. Capcom’s game is also unlikely to climb to the 2-million-plus numbers recorded by Palworld and Black Myth: Wukong during their launch weeks in 2024, both driven by huge swells of interest from Chinese gamers.

Monster Hunter Wilds could well improve its position over the weekend; typically, games hit their peak audiences on Steam on Saturdays and Sundays. And even better may be yet to come, as both Elden Ring and Baldur’s Gate 3 hit their all-time peaks on the second weekend after launch. The achievement is even more remarkable given the timing of Monster Hunter Wilds’ launch outside of peak gaming hours: late at night in North America, in the early hours of the morning in Europe, and in the early afternoon in east Asian countries.

The launch of the PC version of Monster Hunter Wilds hasn’t all been plain sailing for Capcom, however. User reviews on Steam are currently “mixed,” with many players complaining of performance issues. Capcom advised players experiencing problems to update their graphics drivers, turn off compatibility mode, and readjust their settings.