A Strong Start for a New Chapter

On the morning of September 25, as Tokyo Game Show opened its doors, Tencent unveiled a new title at its booth — Monster Hunter: Traveler, an action mobile game co-developed by TiMi Studio and CAPCOM. At the showcase, the team premiered the game’s PV, offered on-site hands-on demos, and brought both Chinese and Japanese producers on stage. The producers also announced that testing will begin in November, with player recruitment now open.

As a franchise with deep influence in Japan, the reveal of Monster Hunter: Traveler naturally ignited enthusiasm among local players and industry folks. Yesterday, virtually the moment TGS opened, the demo area was packed. Today, on the public day, the scene was even more intense: players surrounded the booth wall-to-wall, with wait times exceeding two hours.

First announced in November 2022, the collaboration’s total production time will be no less than three years. TiMi is responsible for development, operations, and publishing, while CAPCOM provides deep support in gameplay, art, and audio. Tencent worked with the Monster Hunter IP once before, ending with regrets; returning to the hunt, can Tencent succeed this time?

Before TGS, I joined an offline hands-on session for Traveler. As a long-time MH player, I came in with modest expectations. After all, the series’ core appeal lies in its rich weapon identities, action and growth systems, varied monsters, and multi-part hit mechanics. Bringing all that to mobile without cuts is unrealistic; oversimplify it, and you lose the fun. Walking that tightrope is hard.

But after extended play and talking with the team, I realized the project’s thinking is clear: they want to make “a Monster Hunter truly suited to mobile.”

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01 — What Makes Monster Hunter “Mobile-Ready”?

First is the IP itself. Monster Hunter comes with depth; its characters and creatures matter to fans. Delivering solid, deeply textured worldbuilding is a major test for the team. On this point, the PV already shows confidence — it feels authentically Monster Hunter.

Hunts take place on an island featuring volcanoes, forests, deserts, and coral biomes. Familiar monsters like Aptonoth, Wyverns, and Raphinos (series mainstays) appear in sequence. The series’ iconic Palico companions are present. Characters wearing classic armor sets — e.g., Anjanath gear — also show up.

Alongside recognizable symbols, the game adds new elements that don’t feel out of place. The island contains a unique mineral called “Fusion Stone,” which affects local fauna. Mutated “Fusion-Light” variants sport glowing body parts. In companions, beyond Palicoes, the team introduces Rutaqo, a monkey-type aide, and Medoli, a bird-type aide. Rutaqo can construct structures, tying into exploration-and-building gameplay that sits naturally alongside MH’s legacy of gathering, roasting meat, sharpening, and more.

So the IP side checks out — but what makes it more suitable for mobile? Given mobile play contexts and habits, the port faces three challenges:

1. Faster session pace per hunt

2. Lower mechanical barrier for players new to MH

3. A stronger social layer, especially for markets where mobile players value social play

Pace. Of the two new companions, Medoli is tuned to accelerate tempo: a combat support you can directly control to heal hunters in the field, reducing “carting” (defeat) and cutting the dead time running back.

Lowering the barrier also helps pace. The current mid-development demo offers five weapons — Long Sword, Dual Blades, Great Sword, Heavy Bowgun, and Bow — and two boss encounters. Even from that slice, the combat intent is clear: preserve monster-side complexity, reduce hunter-side execution load. Different monsters still have distinct skills and weak points; targeted part damage remains crucial. Against Pukei-Pukei–type enemies, lopping the poison-filled tail mitigates constant poison; for Rathalos-type fliers, hitting the wings keeps them grounded.

On the hunter side, inputs are streamlined. Traditional inputs that once required complex command strings are mapped to roughly five buttons: one basic attack, three skills, and one ultimate. That may sound like heavy simplification, but derived actions still exist: skills branch contextually based on your current state. So even if you rely on normal + three skills most of the time, you can still produce varied move strings.

A key twist is the cast of other Adventurers. Unlike earlier MH entries, Traveler lets you control multiple Adventurers. Each uses one weapon, but each has bespoke move sets that better express that weapon’s strengths. Learn one character’s “style,” and you’re ready to go — lower learning cost, faster to fun.

To me, the best embodiment of this philosophy is the auto-aim for monster parts. When you encounter a large target, a part-select wheel appears; choose the part you intend to hit, and your character will bias actions toward that angle (not 100% guaranteed). This reduces execution stress, respects mobile ergonomics, and retains strategy and the series’ combat flavor.

Social. Beyond standard chat and comms, Traveler adds Adventure Groups (guild-like) to structure in-game social ties. More interesting is a Co-Op Skill system: four-player squads can focus attacks on the same monster part to inflict special damage. It speeds hunts, clarifies short-term goals (what to hit, when, and who’s on it), and generates instant conversation hooks — which naturally enrich social fun.

Taken together, these choices give Traveler a real shot at being “Monster Hunter that truly fits mobile.”

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02 — A Shortcut Others Can’t Easily Take

In the end, what raised my expectations is that the team fully understands they’re making a mobile game — one that expresses Monster Hunter’s identity while welcoming both veterans and newcomers. Mobile users differ in type and habits from console/PC hunters; the current design answers those differences.

In our hands-on, with everyone new to the build, veteran squads cleared the same monster in about 4.5 minutes, while newcomer squads took around 7 minutes. Veterans feel powerful; newcomers aren’t stuck “polishing armor” the whole time.

Caveats remain. The game looks lavish — environments and characters are highly polished, with many skills and systems — which implies heavy optimization pressure. If device compatibility falters, even the best design falls flat. Also, the team didn’t discuss monetization during the session. I’m cautiously optimistic: given today’s backlash to aggressive models, perhaps Traveler is considering a measured approach rather than copying heavy-spend templates.

That said, big-IP-to-mobile design is a lane where Tencent has meaningful experience — from League of Legends and VALORANT to its own Delta Force. Preserving original identity while adapting to mobile is something the company has practiced. Between the brand gravity of Monster Hunter and Tencent’s porting know-how, the clues suggest the team may deliver a sincere, quality entry for its “white moonlight” IP.

Looking wider, as Tencent goes deeper on adapting classic IPs for mobile, we can expect more projects like this. It’s a special shortcut: not everyone can take it, and for Tencent, repeatedly running this playbook could accelerate learningfrom top-tier titles and seed new designs and modes in the future.

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