How Long Is Monster Hunter Wilds?

It is finally time for Monster Hunter Wilds as it makes its way to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The next entry in the long-running beast-battling action series from Capcom follows in the large footprints of its predecessor Monster Hunter World and its generous Iceborne expansion. But just how long is it? Here we’ll let you know exactly how many hours it took different members of the IGN team to finish the main story, what they prioritised doing with their time, and how much they’ve put into the postgame.

Tom Marks – Executive Reviews Editor, Games

I took just under 15 hours to reach the credits in Monster Hunter Wilds’ campaign – and that’s the actual end of the story, unlike the first credit roll in Monster Hunter Rise, which comes at barely the halfway point of the larger plot. That said, finishing the campaign here only marks the end of Low Rank, with High Rank after it offering plenty of side quests and greater challenges to tackle, so you’re far from done at that point.

It took me another 15 hours to finish nearly all of those quests and get to what should be considered the proper endgame. That meant I had fought all the monsters there are to fight, unlocked all the systems and crafting you are ultimately given access to at launch, and been introduced to the custom Artian weapon system that’s meant to keep you busy from there. Because of Wilds’ streamlined grind, I only needed another five hours to feel like I had reached the peak of the weapons and armor set I wanted, though there is of course plenty more to strive for across other weapon types and the like.

Casey DeFreitas – Deputy Editor, Guides

I beat the final “story” mission of Monster Hunter Wilds in High Rank at around 40 hours, about 22 hours after I saw the credits after “low rank.” It’s a bit difficult to be 100% accurate though, as I spent quite a bit of time idling in menus for guide purposes. I didn’t really engage in any of the more intricate systems of Monster Hunter Wilds during the “Low Rank” portion of the game. I crafted what I could with what I had and carried on, not bothering to repeat hunts. I pretty much did the same for High Rank, but this time I strayed from the Story Missions to tackle new optional monsters and do more hunts with friends, which you kind of need to do anyway to keep unlocking Story Missions.

Still, I made it to the final mission only specifically going out of my way to upgrade my weapon one time by hunting an extra Ajarakan. Otherwise, I made what I could and beelined it to the end. Not that that’s how I wanted to play. If I had time, I probably would have had closer to 60 hours at the finish line, as I would have liked to make a better, more efficient armor and weapon set besides the hodgepodge I had cobbled together.

Anyway, I still have some endemic life-catching and fishing to do, and I have six monster-hunting Side Missions left that I unlocked after the second to last Story Mission. I likely have at least one additional optional quest to unlock, too. But I certainly won’t stop there. I want to farm a few particular monsters to upgrade a few Talisman, make some different armor, and try my hand with RNG to see what cool Artian weapons I can make! I’m sure I’ll spend time just leisurely replaying through the story with friends while learning a new weapon, too, so I have plenty more I’m excited to do in Monster Hunter Wilds. Not to mention event quests starting next week and the title updates with new monsters coming throughout the year.

Simon Cardy – Senior Editorial Producer

It took just under 16 hours to finish Monster Hunter Wilds’ main story, a runtime that surprised me, as I made it 25 hours into World’s campaign without seeing the end in sight. Somewhat of a MH novice myself, I was also struck by just how easygoing I was finding a lot of its battles, too. I did faint once or twice when it came to some of Wilds’ showpiece apex predators, but on the whole, I found it a fairly breezy adventure. The streamlining to accommodate relative newcomers like me to the series definitely has an impact on this, with elemental strengths and weaknesses, the requirement to craft and tailor loadouts for specific fights, and any real extensive tracking and hunting, all scaled back.

But, perhaps the biggest impact on the runtime is the consistent story cutscene/monster battles cadence that pretty much continues all the way until the credits. It feels less like a pure Monster Hunter experience at times, and more like Capcom welcoming in one-too-many Western cinematic story-driven development influences into its walls. On the one hand, I appreciated it, as I could swiftly reach the conclusion of its (albeit not entirely original) initial story, but do wonder if it leaves too much of what has made Monster Hunter beloved by fans on the cutting room floor until the post-game hits.

Jada Griffin – Community Lead

It took me about 20 hours to reach the initial credits for Monster Hunter Wilds and while most of that time was spent tackling all the optional and side quests available to me another smaller chunk was spent just vibing in the world of Wilds. I spent time exploring all the little paths littered around the map, hunting down various endemic life (bugs, birds, etc), customizing my radial menus, shouts and finding the most optimal locations for my pop-up camps (there are some really cool ones hidden in various caves).

That being said, it only took me 15 hours to complete all the High-rank missions and side quests and see all the monsters held for after the credits. As of now, I’ve spent nearly 70 hours overall doing other things just for fun in the post-credits like hunting monsters with friends for fun, decoration farming, and doing a bit of some semi-serious hunting for monster crowns which are awarded for finding and successfully hunting the largest and smallest versions of each monster. I’ve had a great time with it so far but I am very much looking forward to when Wilds adds more monsters to its roster in future title updates.

Ronny Barrier – Producer, Guides

I saw the first credits in Monster Hunter Wilds after about 20 hours. I mostly mainlined the story, with just a few pit stops to grind out one or two armor sets since they looked cool. I also tried to use a variety of weapons (Switch Axe rocks, by the way), so it took a bit longer than it would have if I just stuck with my faithful sword and shield.

There’s still plenty more to do, and since I’m currently sitting at 65 hours, I wouldn’t consider those credits the real ending, even if that’s a turning point for the story. There’s plenty more to hunt, new monsters to see, and new hats to craft. If anything, the story seems to be a bit of an extended tutorial, which I’m totally okay with. I still get to find and battle more monsters, after all. Except Congalala. Would prefer to never see him again.

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editorial Producer who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.