Monster Hunter Now makes $336.9m in three years on mobile

• Monster Hunter Now walks to $336.9 million in three years.
• The location-based game made the majority of its earnings in year one but will host another in-person event this November.

Geolocation game Monster Hunter Now has generated $336.9 million in three years.

The Scopely Explore title launched globally on September 14th, 2023 when its developer was still known as Niantic, before the acquisition by Scopely.

Within a month, it was second only to Pokémon Go in the company’s portfolio with over $30m in player spending. Monster Hunter Now was at its most successful in year one, racing to milestones and leaning into the franchise’s 20th anniversary celebrations. The game made its first $150m, almost half its lifetime total, in just over six months.

It’s worth noting that the figures come from AppMagic estimates, which account for Google Play and the App Store but not any additional revenue from streams like Now’s web shop.

Roaring and growling

Monster Hunter Now picked up $219.7m by the end of its first year, representing 60% of lifetime earnings. Player spending fell by 69% to $67.3m in year two. It fell by another 26% to $49.9m in year three, showing a clear trend of decline.

Three years on from release, Japan has long established itself as the predominant audience for Monster Hunter Now - reflecting the popularity of Capcom’s IP in the country. This market has contributed $230.4m of Now’s lifetime revenue, accounting for 63% of the global sum.

In year three, 68% of player spending came from Japan, marking a growing share.

While evidently far from its peak, it is worth noting that the title’s decline has occurred during the broader industry trend of players moving to D2C. In Monster Hunter Now’s case, its web shop offers better value on purchases as well as exclusive bundles not found in-game.

Then and now

Monster Hunter Now has evolved considerably since release with a major update every quarter, typically introducing new weapon types and monsters from the main series as well as a fresh story campaign.

Features like online group hunts, Elder Dragon battles and specific monster tracking have also been added through the years, in addition to cooking, a customisable partner Palico and the Tundra habitat with snow-themed beasts.

To mark the third anniversary, the dev team has shortened the cooldown time between new monster spawns during the celebration and made Elder Dragon hunts available at all hours rather than specific parts of the day.

One of the game’s biggest monthly revenue spikes occurred in June 2024 when Edler Dragons were first introduced, up 41% compared to May 2024. Even then, monthly player spending only totalled $16.1m with the boost, far from its $40.3m peak in September 2023.

Also during the third anniversary, forge material requirements from popular monsters like Zinogre and Rathalos have been temporarily reduced, and going forward, Rental Sets will allow players to test pre-selected equipment before investing materials to forge them.

Furthermore, another live event has been confirmed for November 14th and 15th, titled Monster Hunter Now Carnival 2026 Osaka. It will follow two years on from the "roaring success" of Monster Hunter Now Carnival 2024: Shibuya, which bolstered revenue by an estimated 151%.

New details around TiMi Studio Group’s Monster Hunter Outlanders for mobile were recently revealed during Gamescom, including its own original Elder Dragon, Ruger Aidal.