Tencent's Monster Hunter Outlanders bringing "fully featured" open-world survival to mobile

Monster Hunter Wilds might be looming on the horizon, but it's not the only new place you'll be able to get your fix of creature-bopping action; Capcom and Tencent's TiMI Studio Group have announced Monster Hunter Outlanders, a new "fully featured" open-world survival game that's coming to mobile at some currently unspecified future point.

Monster Hunter Outlanders details are, unfortunately, extremely limited at present, but Tencent does say players will be able to partake in the series' "traditional hunting experience", crafting and building "individualised gear and tools" as they "explore and survive unique regions of an open-world map featuring natural environments, ecosystems and monsters."

There's also talk of "social features" and "regular world events and activities, creating immense opportunities for the community to have fun together". The assumption, of course - given TiMi's specialty and Outlanders' mobile focus - is the whole thing will be free-to-play, although that's not explicitly stated in Tencent's announcement.

Monster Hunter Outlanders doesn't have a release date yet, but when it does show up, it'll be available via Apple's App Store and Google Play. Tencent has also confirmed it plans to conduct "several play tests" ahead of its official launch, with more details set to be shared on social media and Outlanders' Discord server at a later date.

As for Capcom's next flagship monster hunting game, that'll be Monster Hunter Wilds, which launches for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam on 28th February. And if Wilds' recent Steam open beta numbers are anything to go by - and assuming Capcom can get those lingering technical issues fixed - the publisher could well have another big hit on its hands.