Monster Hunter Wilds gets a second beta test with a "returning monster from the series," but improvements from the first round "won't be ready" in time

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Capcom's putting the finishing touches on its blockbuster leather-pant-making sim

Monster Hunter Wilds Seikret bird mount walking in plains
(Image credit: Capcom)

Monster Hunter Wilds is stomping toward release with a second open beta test spread over the course of two weeks in February, as if next month wasn't already stacked with cool stuff to play.

Series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto announced the news via a cute video, embedded below, where he explains that the second Monster Hunter Wilds beta has all of the same content as the first, including the scarily realistic character creator, a slice of the game's story, and a quest to slay the furry cutie Doshaguma. But this time, Gypceros, "a returning monster from the series" that's swooped into multiple Monster Hunters, is also showing its face.

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Monster Hunters Wilds' second open beta kicks off on February 6th at 7pm PT until February 9th, with another round the following week running from February 13th at 7pm to February 16th, available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S at the same time. And just like the first round, you won't need a PS Plus or Game Pass subscription to play.

The only slight downside is that all your potential complaints from the first open beta won't be fixed here. Tsujimoto explains that the team is hard at work putting the finishing touches on the game, but this also means your feedback and the developer's subsequent improvements "won't be ready to make it into the second beta test." That includes "performance, weapon changes, Hitstop, quality-of-life improvements, and more" - think of this second beta more as a fun teaser for us and a stress test for Capcom.

Either way, you won't need to wait long to see those changes as Monster Hunter Wilds comes out on February 28th and you'll be able to carry over whatever monstrous character you've constructed in the betas (but not your progress, so maybe don't spend 100s of hours grinding for the best leather pants imaginable.)

Check out all the video game release dates of 2025 to see what else is coming out in February. Spoiler: too much.

Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.