With the highly positive reception that Capcom’s latest game has had from both gamers and reviewers alike, it should come as no surprise thatMonster Hunter World’ssales have been good. However, new figures released for the month of January show that the game’s success has been even greater than anticipated.
January 2018 was an excellent month in general for the video game industry, not just forMonster Hunter World. Figures released by the NPD Group, an industry-tracking firm, show that the video game industry saw a 59% rise in year-over-year sales for January this year, generating slightly over $1 billion. While sales were up across the industry, it wasMonster Hunter Worldthat took the coveted spot as best-selling video game of the month.Monster Hunter Worlddidn’t even release until the January 26, giving the title just six days with which to compete with the other games that sold well during the month.
The firstMonster Huntertitle to be developed for the current generation of consoles,Monster Hunter Worldappeared to be an attempt by Capcom to attract a more mainstream Western gaming audience to the series. For years, theMonster Hunterfranchisehas enjoyed great success in Japan, but it has garnered much less attention in the West, where it has remained a relatively niche title, especially with the last two entries in the series being limited to handheld devices. On that score,Monster Hunter Worldhas evidently been a resounding success. In its first weekend alone, the game sold over 5 million copies, themost successful launch weekendof anyMonster Huntergame in the US, according to NPD.
Monster Hunter Worldhad stiff competition for the top-selling game across all platforms in January -Dragon Ball FighterZcame in at #2, withCall of Duty: WW2at #3. In a month where many retailers hold post-Christmas sales, the list of bestselling games was also filled with successful games from 2017 and beyond, includingSuper Mario Odyssey, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,andThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Ever successfulas the best-selling video game of all time,Grand Theft Auto 5managed to claim a spot as the fifth best-selling game.
Monster Hunter: Worldis available now on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. A PC release is planned for the second half of 2018.
