After spending about 100 hours in Monster Hunter Wilds, my mind occasionally wanders to the idea of returning to Monster Hunter World to finish my Guiding Lands grind. I’ve got a massive backlog left there. But then I realized I don’t really want to play it anymore because my friends are scattered across different consoles, and it feels lonely without them.
The lack of crossplay in MH World killed my desire to return. This also applies to Rise, but we know it’s more of a spin-off than a mainline title.
I want to play with my friends. I want to relive the excitement of fighting Jin Dahaad and extend that excitement to our next Safi’Jiva or Alatreon siege. Unfortunately, that’s impossible without creating a new character and buying a copy for another platform.
Starting fresh in a Monster Hunter game is a big commitment, and not many people have the time or energy to do it to play a few hours with a friend. This is why World’s lack of crossplay has drained my motivation.
I’m mostly a solo player, but after reaching the endgame and defeating all the challenging bosses, hunting with friends and tackling Iceborne’s most formidable monsters is refreshing. Whenever I consider joining my friend on PlayStation for his Iceborne playthrough, I feel frustrated because my character is locked to the Steam version, my original platform of choice. The same goes for my other friend on Series X — and here I am, stuck on Steam.
Crossplay When?
At this point, it’s unrealistic to expect Capcom to implement crossplay in their older titles. It would be a significant technological hurdle and could divert resources from Wilds’ ongoing live-service updates.
This is why Wilds’ crossplay is such a game-changer. Everyone can finally play together without being limited by console barriers.
Still, the lack of crossplay in older titles is disheartening. I’d love to help my friends with their backlogs and complete my unfinished tasks in Worldborne and Risebreak, such as Crown Hunting and Endemic Life collection.
Maybe... Cross-Save?
Now, here’s a more realistic hope: cross-save functionality. If crossplay is too complex for Capcom to implement in older titles, perhaps cross-save could be a more achievable goal. Capcom already has a unified Capcom ID on their official website, which could potentially support this feature. I’m no expert on the backend systems, but even a one-time save transfer would be enough.
It shouldn’t be too difficult, right, Capcom? If Warframe, a 12-year-old game, can do it, why can’t Monster Hunter World and Rise?
I’m just relieved that Monster Hunter Wilds has resolved this glaring issue. Crossplay has been a major factor in the game’s positive reception, even if the difficulty isn’t as intense as previous titles.
But I can’t return to World unless Capcom offers a way to migrate my data to another console without drawbacks. Can you please do this, Capcom?