Monster Hunter Wilds Will Be Free To Try On Halloween

The official release of Monster Hunter Wilds is months away, but the hit franchise’s first mainline sequel built from the ground up for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S will be available to try for free near the end of October in its first open beta test. PlayStation Plus subscribers in particular will get a chance to start playing three days early.

Capcom announced Monster Hunter Wilds’ first open beta during a showcase on Wednesday that revealed a new region full of bubbling oil wells, a village constructed around a massive forge, and a mysterious monster called the “Black Flame.” The latest trailer shows the new biome in action, capped off with a molten lava meltdown at the forge. The multiplayer action-RPG continues to look very good (you can find our hands-on impressions here).

The good news is that fans won’t have to wait until Monster Hunter Wilds’ February 28, 2025 release date to get their hands on it and check out its world for themselves. An open beta test free to all players on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC kicks off on Halloween and runs into early November. There are three segments to it, including a character creator (with characters transferable to the main game), opening story missions, and a free-roaming Doshaguma Hunt. Here’s the full schedule:

You’ll notice that PS5 players who subscribe to PS Plus get a three-day head start while everyone else has to wait until October 31. Also worth noting is that PS Plus and Xbox Live, now part of Game Pass Core/Ultimate, aren’t required to play the online beta. The test also features cross-play, so you can meet up with your friends even if they’re on a different platform. Everyone who participates gets a pendant and item pack that can be used in the final game.

Capcom’s partnership with Sony for the game runs a little deeper than early beta access, however. Over at the PlayStation Blog, the company highlighted DualSense-specific features for Monster Hunter Wilds including Tempest 3D audio support as well as integration of the integrated speaker, adaptive triggers, and the built-in accelerometer and gyroscope, which can be used to aim long-range weapons and abilities. Hopefully, there’s an option to turn all of those features off, or at least the integrated speaker. I’m already tired of my controller constantly yelling at me when I play Astro Bot.