Niantic is giving Monster Hunter the Pokémon Go treatment

polygon.com:

Capcom and Niantic have announced a new collaboration: Monster Hunter Now, a “real-world hunting action role-playing game” for mobile devices which combines an accessible version of classic Monster Hunter gameplay with the augmented reality framework familiar from Niantic’s smash hit, Pokémon Go. It’s due out in September on Android and iOS platforms, with a beta test beginning on April 25. Registration for the beta test is open at the Monster Hunter Now website.

Monster Hunter Now players will be able to find monsters and materials out in the real world as they walk around with their phones, team up with friends and strangers to hunt those monsters, and craft weapons and armor.

“The notion of majestic monsters roaming around city streets was extremely compelling as a real-world game,” Niantic’s chief product officer Kei Kawai said at an online briefing for press. The idea of an augmented reality Monster Hunter game was such a no-brainer that, Kawai boasted, Capcom accepted Niantic’s pitch at their first meeting. The game is being developed at Niantic’s Tokyo studio. It will be free to play, supported by in-app purchases.

Niantic and Capcom touted what they said was a simplified but authentic version of the Monster Hunter series’ combat, using taps and swipes on the touchscreen. The game will be playable one-handed in portrait mode, or in a landscape presentation closer to the console and PC Monster Hunter games. The maximum battle time is just 75 seconds, to be suitable for outdoor play; Niantic senior producer Sakae Osumi said it was the developer’s goal to capture all the fun and challenge of Monster Hunter battles in this short window. The series’ distinctive, gameplay-altering weapon classes remain, but players