Monster Hunter Now’s quick approaching its half-year anniversary and Niantic is taking that chance to launch celebratory content material and replace some sport mechanics. Most crucially, throughout Half 1 of the celebration, monster spawns will likely be elevated, showing in additional locations and extra continuously – respawning after one hour as an alternative of three.
This implies gamers will be capable to tackle a minimum of triple the same old quantity of hunts. Contemplating Monster Hunter Now’s monetisation largely revolves round shopping for therapeutic objects, providing gamers extra alternatives to struggle monsters (and endure the results) is an ingenious means of offering extra content material, boosting playtime and having a knock-on enhance in spending .
Given the sport’s fall in in-app income this previous month – having solely generated $12 million by App Magic information, down from $31 million in its launch month and a powerful $100 million in its first quarter – the gameplay tweak and anniversary content material couldn’t come at a greater time, providing the prospect for a second wind.
Monetising and celebrating
Half 1 of the celebration kicks off in the course of the first week of March and can embody the sale of limited-time packs. These will comprise numerous searching assets akin to paintballs and Hunt-A-Thon tickets: a extra direct monetisation tactic than the potion technique. The packs embody potions too, however with the variety of monsters as a consequence of seem there are sure to be many gamers needing to purchase extra in the event that they need to play optimally via the occasion.
In any case, if a participant’s HP is simply too low they will’t take part in hunts and should both watch for it to revive over time (a tender stamina system) or use a potion.
The event crew can be going to implement changes to story quests to assist newer gamers rise up to hurry shortly, opening up extra monster selection as unlocked via story development. They must progress shortly to come across the Barioth nevertheless – a winter-exclusive monster as a consequence of depart from the sport on March 14.
Anniversaries ahoy
In the meantime on March 11, Capcom’s franchise as an entire will rejoice its twentieth anniversary. Naturally Now has content material deliberate to rejoice this milestone too, with unique occasion quests, supplies to earn, a Monster Hunter twentieth Anniversary Medal to unlock and extra – conveniently combining two celebrations in a single.
Half 2 of the celebration launches on Now’s half-year anniversary and can run till March 24. Full particulars of this second half are anticipated at a later date, however Niantic has teased a serious replace titled “The Vernal Invader”, as a consequence of deliver extra monsters, weapons, and “just a few different surprises”.
The following new subspecies can be as a consequence of seem throughout this occasion, beginning on March 25, at some point earlier than Monster Hunter Rise’s third anniversary. And whereas Now has primarily featured monsters first launched in 2018’s Monster Hunter World, with subsequent month’s concentrate on anniversary content material there’s trigger to invest Now’s enlargement into Rise monsters, given the timing.
“In addition to our second main replace, The Vernal Invader, we’re celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the Monster Hunter collection and the half-anniversary of Monster Hunter Now with the Monster Hunter Now Celebration 2024 and different occasions. Prepare to affix the hunt this spring!” the Monster Hunter Now crew stated.
Whether or not the limited-time celebration packs and enhance in content material can enhance Now’s income again as much as its late 2023 ranges stays to be seen, but it surely ought to be famous that Niantic’s net retailer push may additionally be impacting Now’s perceived earnings; App Magic’s recommended $12 million previously 30 days is predicated on in-app spending and doesn’t account for net shops, the place Niantic is more and more encouraging its playerbase.