Stepping onto the Gamescom showroom floor this year, I had no idea what the game of the moment would be for its 300,000 attendees. Some absolute bangers showed up with their grand thematic booths: Civilization 7 had a giant Roman building, knights fought in the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 booth, and a floor-to-ceiling inflatable Goku looming over the numerous Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero demo stations. 

I had a little bit of time to nosey around these booths between my appointments in the more humble-looking business areas—seeing what was hot among the public and, of course, taking a bit of time to give the Final Fantasy 14 battle challenge a whirl. I was planning to meet up with fellow writer Harvey Randall, when he texted me to say how big the Final Fantasy 14 queue was.

Upon closer inspection, however, we both realised that it wasn't Final Fantasy 14. This wasn't a mass of people waiting alongside us to batter Valigarmanda and win a t-shirt. Nope, these folk were queueing for hours to try out the demo for Monster Hunter: Wilds.

If you'd asked me eight years ago if I'd ever seen Monster Hunter hit the mainstream, I would've said “absolutely not.” The games had their fans, sure, but I'd always considered it one of the more niche series I enjoyed. Of course, World totally changed that in 2018, and standing adjacent to the ever-growing crowd was a stark reminder of how many hunters have joined the fray in the years since its release.

What was supposed to be a relatively wide walkway between well spaced out booths was slowly becoming a single-purpose funnel for fans to get their hands on Wilds. Oh, and something I totally forgot to mention:. This wasn't even the day where it's open to anyone and everyone who could nab a ticket. This was on the wildcard day: usually a  quieter affair only open to press, trade visitors, and a handful of wildcard ticket holders. 

The real fun started on day two—the first day totally open to all ticket holders—where I'm told queues were reaching upwards of 10 whole-ass hours. The queue continued to absolutely dominate the walkway, stretching halfway across the hall and covering multiple booths in its path.

The great hunt

It was easily the most popular game at the show, and the excitement is understandable. It's the first time the game has been playable to the public and, despite a rather shaky build that crashed for multiple folks including myself, was a roaring good time. Hell, even two of my friends flew out to Gamescom specifically to play the demo—despite coming over to “loop the game,” they only managed to squeeze three tries in over two days.

That's partly down to the fact that, by the third day, Capcom was seemingly doing its best to wrangle the mass hype. The queue had been herded from the main walkway to wrapping around the Capcom booth, meticulously carving out gaps for its other offerings like the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection. The queue was capped at (a still eye-watering) four hours, and I spotted folks lingering nearby who I can only assume were waiting for a spot at the back to open up.

The intense popularity earned Wilds its share of accolades during the Gamescom awards. It came away with four awards in total—for Most Entertaining, Most Epic, Best Sony PlayStation Game, and Best Trailer. That was every category it was nominated for, by the way, meaning it managed to take home every trophy possible.

It was a hype almost entirely unreplicated anywhere else across the venue. The only other one I saw even come close was inZOI, the (slightly unsettling) realistic Sims competitor from Krafton. The queue wrapped around its bright-white booth, a giant cat peering down from the ceiling. I was told by a staff member working there that the predicted wait time was in the ballpark of four hours, matching Capcom's self-imposed stopping point. Whether that was down to the ever-growing thirst for The Sims to have some direct competition or the adorable clear plastic drawstring bags filled with goodies that were being handed out, I'm not sure. Probably a bit of both. It was in my case, anyway.

But for Monster Hunter: Wilds, the Gamescom crowd really proved that the series is no longer the niche action game you're trying to convince your pals is really good, actually. It's a certified juggernaut, vastly outclassing some of the more predictably popular AAAs like Assassin's Creed and Crimson Desert. 

Ultimately, it's a testament to Capcom for how good a job they did making World a palatable game for veterans and newcomers alike. The series was known for being frustratingly obtuse, its somewhat clunky controls turning a lot of people off. But at its core it's always been raring fun, packed with delightful monster designs that populated gorgeous landscapes. The fact that Capcom has allowed more people to see that—to the point folk will queue 10 hours to get their hands on more—is pretty darn cool, if you ask me.