Monster Hunter Stories 2 gets a surprise PC port and a July release date

Monster Hunter Stories 2 is coming to PC and Nintendo Switch on July 9.

Capcom confirmed the final release date during today's Monster Hunter digital showcase. The sequel was first announced for Switch in September 2020, and since Capcom had never even hinted at a PC version until now, it's come as a total surprise. 

It's wild to think that Monster Hunter, a series which never saw any major PC releases before Monster Hunter World (a translated MMO notwithstanding), is now giving the PC treatment to the sequel for a monster-taming spinoff RPG that started on the Nintendo 3DS. 

While the Monster Hunter Stories 2 PC release is surprising, it's not unprecedented. Just last month, Capcom announced that a Monster Hunter Rise PC port is also in the works. However, while the PC port of Rise won't arrive until early 2022 – roughly a year after the Switch version – Monster Hunter Stories 2 will launch on both platforms simultaneously. 

All of this information was dropped alongside a new trailer showing the many new monsters coming in Stories 2, including Monster Hunter World originals like Nergigante and Legiana. We also got our first look at co-op quests for Stories 2, with two players and their tamed Monsties teaming up to take on a Mizutsune. 

Like Monster Hunter Rise and Monster Hunter World before it, the PC version of Monster Hunter Stories 2 will be sold through Steam, but its product page isn't up just yet. The versions are essentially identical apart from three skins tied to Amiibos, which are obviously exclusive to Switch. 

The Monster Hunter Rise Switch demo is returning March 11 with a new quest starring the flagship monster Magnamalo.