Monster Hunter Games: Play Order Guide

A year after celebrating its 20th anniversary, Capcom's iconic monster-hunting franchise is set to return in 2025 with Monster Hunter Wilds. This prolific series has spanned multiple generations of home and portable consoles, achieving new heights with the critically and commercially acclaimed Monster Hunter World in 2018 and Monster Hunter Rise in 2021—the two best-selling games in the series and Capcom's top-selling titles of all time.

With the release of Monster Hunter Wilds scheduled for February 28, we take a moment to reflect on the franchise's rich history by presenting a chronological list of the most significant Monster Hunter games.

How Many Monster Hunter Games Are There?

There are over 25 Monster Hunter games, including base games, spinoffs, mobile entries, and enhanced versions. However, for this list, we've narrowed it down to the 12 most relevant Monster Hunter games. We've excluded mobile-only and arcade-exclusive titles like Monster Hunter i and Monster Hunter Spirits, as well as discontinued MMOs such as Monster Hunter Frontier and Monster Hunter Online. We've also left out the Japan-exclusive, FromSoftware-developed, Animal Crossing-inspired game, Monster Hunter Diary: Poka Poka Airou Village.

Every IGN Monster Hunter Review

12 Images### Which Monster Hunter Game Should You Play First?

The Monster Hunter series does not have a continuous storyline, allowing you to start with any game. If you're entering the world of Monster Hunter in 2025, you might want to wait for initial reactions to the upcoming Monster Hunter Wilds, set to release on February 28. If you're eager to dive in before then, we recommend starting with Monster Hunter World for its immersive exploration or Monster Hunter Rise for its faster, more fluid gameplay.

Out February 28### Monster Hunter Wilds - Standard Edition

2See it at AmazonEvery Monster Hunter Game in Release Order

Monster Hunter (2004)

Monster Hunter was developed alongside Auto Modellista and Resident Evil: Outbreak to explore the PS2's online capabilities, as Capcom's Ryozo Tsujimoto revealed to Eurogamer in 2014.

This inaugural Monster Hunter game established the series' core mechanics. Players, either solo or with online teammates, undertake quests to hunt monsters, using materials from the environment and defeated creatures to craft and upgrade their weapons and armor, enabling them to tackle even more formidable foes.

An enhanced version, Monster Hunter G, was released exclusively in Japan the following year.

Monster HunterCapcom Production Studio 1Mar 11, 2004

Monster Hunter found its niche on portable consoles with Monster Hunter Freedom, an enhanced port of Monster Hunter G optimized for single-player on the PSP. This first portable entry in the franchise sold over a million copies, setting a trend where Monster Hunter's portable versions outsold home console releases until the breakthrough of Monster Hunter World in 2018.

Monster Hunter FreedomCapcom Production Studio 1Dec 1, 2005

Capcom returned to home consoles with the series' second main entry, Monster Hunter 2 (also known as Monster Hunter Dos), released exclusively in Japan for PS2. This game introduced a day-night cycle and gems, enhancing weapon and armor customization.

Monster Hunter 2Capcom Production Studio 1Feb 16, 2006

Monster Hunter Freedom 2, the second handheld game, expanded on its home console counterpart, Monster Hunter 2, with additional content and a focus on single-player. The game was further enhanced in 2008 with Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, which added new monsters, missions, maps, and the option to have a Felyne fighter accompany the player in battle.

Monster Hunter Freedom 2Capcom Production Studio 1Feb 22, 2007