Part of the perks (or cons, depending on how you look at it) of having an amazing game with breakthrough gameplay aspects and innovative features is that you’ll end up seeing clones pop up. In fact, whole genres can be born from emerging copycats. Some people may not remember it now, but the genre known as MOBA games originally started out with a custom game mode for Warcraft III called Defense of the Ancients, which gained popularity through LAN cafes and other small circles. Now, it’s a billion-dollar industry that lives on not only on PCs, but also mobile phones around the world.
We may be seeing the same thing happen to Monster Hunter now, as the release of Monster Hunter: World and its subsequent milestone of 12 million copies proved that a grindy hunt-rinse-repeat core loop can be popular outside of Japan. In fact, in terms of contenders, we may be seeing one emerge in order to capitalize on this monster-hunting success: Phoenix Labs’ free-to-play Dauntless.
But what does Capcom, the publisher and developer behind the Monster Hunter franchise, have to say about clones like Dauntless, who capitalize on the subgenre that their brand is built on? It’s a positive outlook, as expressed in an exclusive with Polygon.
“I’m perfectly happy and proud to feel that if our game has gotten big enough that people are taking inspiration from it and making their own titles,” says Monster Hunter: World executive Kaname Fujioka. “I mean, we are creators and we are influenced by all the games we’ve played. It’s definitely not something I feel bad or angry about to see this kind of thing happening. It’s more proof that Monster Hunter: World has gone global, since a game like Dauntless is a global game.”
It is refreshing to see his take on this, as there is a sentiment among some players that there can only exist one game of a genre at any given time. It’s even crazier when you get to play Dauntless, as I think that Phoenix Labs’ take on the genre is unique enough to differentiate it from something like Monster Hunter: World. It even does some things better, as Dauntless actually has cross-play across PC and all platforms, and will be made available soon on the Nintendo Switch.
Monster Hunter: World, meanwhile, can bask in its continued success, as the massive Iceborne expansion will be making its way to consoles on September 6.
