Monster Hunter Now

Monster Hunter Now
Information
VR/AR	Augmented reality
Developer	Niantic (renamed Scopely Explore in July 2026), in collaboration with Capcom
Publisher	Niantic (renamed Scopely Explore in July 2026)
Platform	IOS, Android
Device	Smartphone
Operating System	IOS 14.0 or later, Android
Type	Game
Genre	Action, RPG
Input Device	Touchscreen
Game Mode	Single-player, Multiplayer
Release Date	September 14, 2023 (worldwide)
Price	Free-to-play with in-app purchases
App Store	App Store, Google Play
Website	https://monsterhunternow.com/en

Monster Hunter Now is a free-to-play location-based augmented reality action role-playing game for iOS and Android smartphones, based on Capcom's Monster Hunter series. It was developed by Niantic in collaboration with Capcom and released worldwide on 14 September 2023. Players walk around the real world to find monsters and gathering points on a map, fight large monsters in hunts that last at most 75 seconds, and can view monsters through the phone camera in an AR Camera Mode.

Niantic, the developer of Pokemon Go, built the game at its Tokyo studio. In 2025 Niantic sold its games business, including Monster Hunter Now, to Scopely; the game is now operated by Scopely Explore, the name the former Niantic games studio has used since July 2026.

Reviewed 6 October 2026. Checked every cited source for release dates, soft launch, developer and Scopely ownership history including the July 2026 Scopely Explore rename, gameplay systems, weapons, habitats, seasons, quotes, download and revenue figures, Metacritic score and App Store listing. About review dates.

Gameplay

Niantic described the game as a hunting experience that fits into everyday life, with one-handed play and "75-second bitesize hunts". Before launch, Niantic said the game could be played one-handed in portrait orientation or in a landscape view closer to the console and PC games, and that Niantic's community-identified points of interest (wayspots) would serve as resource gathering points.

Hunting

Small monsters are fought by tapping them when they are within the player's accessible range, using the equipment already selected. Large monsters open a preparation screen where the player can change weapon and armor and choose a solo hunt or a hunt with nearby players. Combat uses taps and swipes on the touchscreen. In its review, The Verge described tapping the monster to attack and swiping left or right to dodge, with later unlocks adding charged special attacks and targeting of individual monster parts. A hunt that is not finished within 75 seconds fails.

Players forge and upgrade weapons and armor from monster parts and gathered materials. The game launched with six weapon types (sword and shield, great sword, bow, hammer, light bowgun and long sword), and further types were added in later updates. The third anniversary event in September 2026 offered rental equipment sets for all 14 weapon types. The official site lists more than 50 monsters.

Paintballs and passive play

From Hunter Rank 5, players can mark large monsters they encounter with Paintballs and hunt them again at a later time. The player's Palico companion can also mark monsters automatically with Palico Paintballs once certain conditions are met. Each marked monster can be challenged a limited number of times. Polygon reported from the 2023 beta that the Palico also gathers resources while the phone is in the player's pocket, so the game rewards walking even when the app is not open.

Habitats

The real-world map is divided into habitats, each with its own large monsters and gathering points. As of September 2026 there are five: forest, desert, swamp, tundra and volcano. Niantic announced the tundra, the game's first new habitat, for the Season 4 update scheduled for 12 December 2024. The volcano arrived with Season 11 on 17 September 2026.

Multiplayer

Group hunts allow up to four hunters to fight a large monster together; players can join through the nearby-hunters lobby or by QR code. Hunt-a-thons, in which several monsters are hunted in a row, and Elder Dragon Interceptions take place at specific map locations.

AR Camera Mode

The launch version included AR Camera Mode, which places a monster in front of the player in the real world through the phone camera, lets the player interact with it and see its reactions, and supports sharing the encounter on social media.

Seasons

Since March 2024 the game has run on a season system, with each season lasting three months and bringing its own story quests and tiered rewards. Season 1 launched on 14 March 2024. Season 11, "Ashes of Ignition", began on 17 September 2026 during the third anniversary event, adding Brachydios, Aurora Somnacanth, riftborne subspecies monsters and the volcano habitat.

Development

According to Niantic and Capcom, Niantic first visited Capcom to propose the project in 2019. Monster Hunter series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto said he agreed to the pitch immediately, and the game was built by Niantic's Tokyo-based team, which had also made Pikmin Bloom. Niantic's official launch post also dates the start of development to 2019. Polygon reported that Niantic increased hiring at its then new Tokyo studio within a few months of the meeting, built a prototype with monsters over a real-world map, and tried ideas it later dropped, such as basing all combat on gyroscope controls.

Niantic CEO John Hanke told Polygon that mobile networks had become more robust and lower in latency between the design of Pokemon Go and the start of work on this game in 2019, which let the team "push the envelope in terms of fast, high-speed, low-latency combat in multiplayer". Niantic senior producer Sakae Osumi said the goal of the 75-second limit was to keep the fun and challenge of Monster Hunter battles within a window suited to outdoor play, and Niantic Tokyo executive director Tatsuo Nomura said the team hoped players would switch between weapon types. Capcom's announcement said the game "blends the appeal of the Monster Hunter series with Niantic's development technology".

Release

Niantic and Capcom announced the game on 18 April 2023, with a closed beta beginning on 25 April 2023 and a full release planned for September 2023. In August 2023 Niantic soft launched a full pre-release version on Android in Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sweden; player progress carried over to the global launch. More than 3 million players pre-registered before the worldwide launch on 14 September 2023.

Phase	Date	Platforms and regions
Announcement	18 April 2023	iOS, Android
Closed beta	From 25 April 2023	Registration through the official site
Soft launch	August 2023	Android in Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sweden
Worldwide release	14 September 2023	iOS and Android

The game is free to play with in-app purchases. On the US App Store it is listed under Scopely Explore, Inc. and requires iOS 14.0 or later; version 129.1 was the current release in early October 2026.

Change of ownership

On 12 March 2025 Scopely announced an agreement to acquire Niantic's games business, including Monster Hunter Now, Pokemon Go and Pikmin Bloom, in a deal valued at US$3.5 billion. Scopely said the Niantic game teams would continue under their studio leaders Kei Kawai and Ed Wu. The acquisition closed on 29 May 2025. The studio kept the Niantic name after the acquisition and was renamed Scopely Explore in July 2026; Scopely said the new name is not a separate company or subsidiary. Scopely Explore describes itself as "formerly known as Niantic"; the official game site credits Scopely Explore, with characters, artwork and music credited to Capcom.

Reception

On Metacritic, the iOS version has a score of 73 ("Mixed or Average") based on 8 critic reviews. Andrew Webster of The Verge wrote that the hunts work well in short bursts and praised the visuals and quality-of-life features such as Paintballs, but found that battles play out much the same regardless of gear or monster. He concluded that "the game nails the monster part of the experience".

Downloads and revenue

Milestone	Date	Source of figure
More than 3 million pre-registrations	Before 14 September 2023	Capcom
5 million downloads	First week after launch	Reported by PocketGamer.biz
10 million downloads	October 2023 (35 days after launch)	Niantic
15 million downloads	Announced 23 April 2024	Niantic

Market intelligence firm AppMagic estimated that the game earned US$39.2 million from iOS and Android in-app purchases (net of platform fees and taxes) between launch and mid-October 2023, with Japan accounting for 73% of that revenue. By late November 2024, AppMagic estimated lifetime gross revenue on Google Play and the App Store at US$251.7 million, an amount that excludes web shop sales. In its acquisition announcement, Scopely said the game had been especially popular in Japan, that more than 20,000 people attended the first Monster Hunter Now Carnival event in Shibuya in October 2024, and that over half of its audience played every day of the week. A second live event, Monster Hunter Now Carnival 2026 Osaka, is scheduled for November 2026.

See also

• Niantic
• Pokemon Go
• Ingress
• Peridot