Pocketpair Grants Day Off for Monster Hunter Wilds Launch After Staff's 'Mysterious' Illness Notes

The developer of Palworld, Pocketpair, has shown a heartwarming gesture by granting its staff a day off to enjoy the launch of Monster Hunter Wilds. As reported by Automaton, the Japanese studio humorously noted on social media that several employees mysteriously reported feeling unwell on the game's release day, February 28. This playful acknowledgment led to the day being dubbed a sort of holiday for Pocketpair's team. Despite the fun, Pocketpair reassured fans that this wouldn't impact the updates for their own games.

Monster Hunter Wilds has made an explosive entry into the gaming world, achieving 1 million concurrent players on Steam. This remarkable feat has propelled it into Steam's top 10 most-played games of all time, surpassing heavyweights like Baldur's Gate 3, Hogwarts Legacy, and Elden Ring. However, the game's user review rating on Steam is 'mixed', prompting Capcom to release official guidance addressing PC performance issues. Additionally, Capcom has teased the upcoming Monster Hunter Wilds Title Update 1, which will introduce an endgame social hub.

The launch of Monster Hunter Wilds has had a significant global impact, particularly resonating in Japan. An amusing anecdote from Automaton highlights a Japanese indie developer who humorously claimed on social media that they hadn't sold a single game on Steam since Monster Hunter Wilds hit the market. This showcases the game's dominating presence.

Pocketpair's tradition of allowing staff time off to enjoy major game releases isn't new; they did the same back in 2022 for FromSoftware's Elden Ring. For those eager to dive into Monster Hunter Wilds, we've compiled essential guides to help kickstart your adventure. These include tips on what the game doesn't explicitly tell you, a comprehensive guide to all 14 weapon types, an in-progress walkthrough, a multiplayer guide, and instructions on transferring your character from the open beta.

IGN's review of Monster Hunter Wilds awarded it an 8/10, praising the game for refining the series' mechanics in intelligent ways, resulting in engaging combat, though noting a lack of real challenge.