Monster Hunter, the modern run
Hunt a large animal for thirty minutes, make a coat out of it, hunt a larger one. Two parallel lines — the World branch and the Rise branch — plus their expansions.
Recommended first play
What to play first, and in what order, if you are starting cold.
A curator’s claim about what to play first, not a fact about the series. It moves 5 entries out of release order, and each one says why.
There is no story order and this page does not pretend otherwise; a lore toggle would reorder nothing. The recommendation is about where the other players are, which for a game built around hunting in fours is not a small consideration: start with the current one, and go back for the older branches when you want the deeper version of the systems.
- 1Monster Hunter Wilds
2025 · Capcom
The current one, and first here for that reason alone — this is a game about hunting in fours, and a full lobby is worth more than a marginally better tutorial.
Entry point4 places earlier than release - 2Monster Hunter: World
2018 · Capcom
The one that rebuilt the series for people who had bounced off it. Slower and more deliberate than Rise, and still the best-taught of them.
Entry point1 place later than release - 3Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
2019 · Capcom
An expansion, not a sequel: it needs World underneath it and raises the ceiling rather than moving the floor.
1 place later than release - 4Monster Hunter Rise
2021 · Capcom
The other branch. Faster, more mobile, built for handheld sessions — a different answer to the same design question rather than a follow-up to World.
Entry point1 place later than release - 5Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak
2022 · Capcom
Rise’s expansion, and the same bargain as Iceborne: it assumes the base game and nothing else on this page.
1 place later than release
