Monster Hunter Wilds pre-load times – differences between PS5 and Xbox / PC explained

The Monster Hunter Wilds pre-load times are nearly here, which is wondrous news for those who want to ensure they can play Capcom's latest game as soon as it drops.

Due to release on February 28, Monster Hunter Wilds is the World follow-up many – us included – have been waiting years for. In fact, in our Monster Hunter Wilds review, we call it "the new peak of the series and an early contender for game of the year."

"With the best combat and narrative in a 20-year series of action RPGs, Monster Hunter Wilds is the new peak of Monster Hunter, only further enlivened by a colorful cast of monsters that defies longtime design conventions," we said.

That's all well and grand – the game is good. The next thing you may wonder if you've already pre-ordered the game is how you go about the launch. First, you'll want to pre-load the game so you're not waiting on launch day. How that works depends on your platform, so here's what Capcom says.

Monster Hunter Wilds pre-load times

• PS5: 48 hours before launch starts in your region
• Xbox Series X|S and PC/Steam: 9pm PT globally on February 25, translating to midnight ET and 5am GMT on February 26

You can find a handy infographic here if you're wondering what the Monster Hunter Wilds launch times are. Those on the East Coast in America will enjoy a few hours of the game early, though I imagine most of us will be saving it for another day – or staying up quite late otherwise.

What other new games of 2025 are you looking forward to?