Monster Hunter Wilds Dev Capcom Is Trying to Tame Beastly PC Requirements

With Monster Hunter Wilds' February 28th release approaching, Capcom is actively investigating ways to lower the recommended GPU specifications. This follows a statement from the official German Monster Hunter X/Twitter account, which also hinted at the potential release of a dedicated PC benchmarking tool.

Currently, Capcom suggests an Nvidia GTX 1660 Super or AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT for achieving 30 FPS at 1080p. This minimum configuration necessitates an internal resolution of 720p and utilizes upscaling technologies like DLSS or FSR at the lowest graphical settings.

The recommended settings for 1080p at 60 FPS, with upscaling and frame generation enabled, cite examples such as the RTX 2070 Super, RTX 4060, and AMD RX 6700 XT. However, only the RTX 4060 natively supports Nvidia Frame Generation; the 2070 Super and 6700 XT rely on FSR 3, which, as noted in the previous beta, exhibited ghosting artifacts.

Aiming for 60 FPS with frame generation might not be optimal. Digital Foundry suggests a 40 FPS baseline for third-person games. Running below 60 FPS with upscaling can introduce noticeable latency and negatively impact responsiveness.

The open beta revealed performance challenges for players with lower-end hardware, including mid-range cards like the RTX 3060, particularly concerning a low-LOD bug affecting texture detail.

Monster Hunter Wilds utilizes Capcom's RE Engine, previously seen in titles like Resident Evil 7, Devil May Cry 5, Monster Hunter Rise, and Street Fighter 6, generally known for smooth performance. However, larger open-world games built on this engine, such as the anticipated Dragon's Dogma 2, have faced performance issues on both consoles and PC, raising concerns for Monster Hunter Wilds. Capcom's efforts to reduce the required GPU power may prove crucial for the game's PC reception.