Monster Hunter Wilds Switch 2 at a glance
| Monster Hunter Wilds (Switch 2) | |
|---|---|
| Release date | Friday 4 December 2026 |
| Unlock time | Not published yet |
| Standard Edition (digital) | $29.99 pre-order, $39.99 regular |
| Gold Edition (digital) | $79.99 (game + Cosmetic DLC Collection) |
| Pre-order price ends | 3 December, 11:59 PM EST |
| Estimated download | 39.1 GB |
| Pre-load | Yes, with a pre-order |
| Free demo | Prologue Demo, out now on the eShop |
| Players | 1, local wireless 1–4, online 1–4 |
| Rating | ESRB Teen · PEGI 16 |
The Monster Hunter Wilds Switch 2 release date is Friday 4 December 2026. The US Nintendo eShop listing sells the Standard Edition for $29.99 until 3 December, then $39.99, and Nintendo estimates a 39.1 GB download. It is the 2025 game with every free Title Update included, and Capcom’s Ascendance expansion follows in 2027.
We are not stocking the Switch 2 version itself, but it is paid for with Nintendo eShop funds, and US Nintendo $35 eShop cards are in our store. Below: the pre-order deadline in each region, what the Gold Edition really saves, the file size and demo, and how the price compares with Steam.
Monster Hunter Wilds Switch 2 release date
Monster Hunter Wilds comes out on Nintendo Switch 2 on Friday 4 December 2026. The US eShop shows “Releases 12/4/26”, the UK Nintendo page shows 04/12/2026, and Capcom announced the date on 9 September. It is a Switch 2 game only: there is no version for the original Switch. Nintendo has not published an unlock time. The 4 December date in its page data is a plain date with no time attached, so do not read it as midnight UTC.
When the $29.99 pre-order price ends
| eShop | Pre-order price | Regular price | Discount ends (local time) |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $29.99 | $39.99 | 3 Dec, 11:59 PM EST |
| Canada | CA$41.24 | CA$54.99 | 3 Dec, 11:59 PM EST |
| United Kingdom | £26.24 | £34.99 | 3 Dec, 11:59 PM GMT |
| Germany (euro area) | €29.99 | €39.99 | 3 Dec, 11:59 PM CET |
| Australia | A$47.21 | A$62.95 | 3 Dec, 11:59 PM AEDT |
Some news sites reported that the discount runs until 19 December. The eShop itself disagrees: the US page counts down to 3 December at 11:59 PM EST, and the price data ends every region’s discount on 3 December, the day before launch. The page also says a pre-order “lets you pre-load the game, so you’ll be able to play as soon as the game is released”.
“From our checks: on 26 October we opened the US eShop page and pulled Nintendo’s price data for five countries. Every region has the same 25% pre-order cut, and every one of them ends on 3 December. The price data agrees with the countdown on the page, and neither one says 19 December.”
— Rayyan Omar, Games editor, Virtwave
Monster Hunter Wilds Switch 2 price and editions
| Product | US price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Edition (digital) | $29.99 until 3 Dec, then $39.99 | The full game with all Title Update content; pre-order bonus Guild Knight layered armor set + Hope Charm talisman |
| Gold Edition (digital) | $79.99 | The game + Cosmetic DLC Collection + premium bonuses (Wyverian Ears layered armor, a Hunter Profile set, the “Proof of a Hero (2025 Recording)” BGM) |
| Cosmetic DLC Collection (add-on) | $59.99 | Deluxe Pack, Cosmetic DLC Packs 1–4, the four Festival of Accord packs, the Extras Cosmetic DLC Pack |
| Deluxe Edition (physical) | $39.99 (Capcom MSRP) | The base game + the Deluxe Pack cosmetics |
All the paid extras are cosmetic. According to the Gold Edition listing, it is the main game bundled with the Cosmetic DLC Collection: ten cosmetic packs plus three premium bonuses. Capcom sells all of them as cosmetic DLC, so the monsters, weapons and quests are the same in every edition. This matches the line-up Capcom moved the PC and console versions to on 4 August, when it replaced the old Deluxe and Premium Deluxe Editions with the Gold Edition and cut the base game’s price for good.
Gold Edition or Standard plus DLC?
If you want every cosmetic, the Gold Edition is the cheaper way to get them, even against the pre-order deal. The $29.99 Standard Edition plus the $59.99 Cosmetic DLC Collection comes to $89.98, which is $9.99 more than the $79.99 Gold Edition. After 3 December the gap grows to $19.99. If you only want to hunt, the $29.99 Standard Edition is the whole game, and the Gold Edition’s extra $50 buys only looks and music. One catch: the UK Nintendo page still lists the Gold Edition’s release date as TBD, while the US page says 4 December.
The physical Deluxe Edition
Capcom’s announcement, as published by Gematsu on 9 September, lists a physical Deluxe Edition at $39.99 with the base game and the Deluxe Pack. Nintendo Life reports it is a Game-Key Card: the box holds a key to the download rather than the full game on the cartridge, so you still need the storage space. We could not open Capcom’s own Switch 2 page from our location to confirm this, so check the box before you buy. A physical copy also does not get the eShop’s $29.99 pre-order price.
The Switch 2 port is part of a wider multi-platform push: our Capcom statistics report has Monster Hunter series sales (132 million units), Monster Hunter: World’s 30.8 million, and Capcom’s record 59.07 million games sold in the year to March 2026, every figure sourced from Capcom’s IR filings.
Monster Hunter Wilds Switch 2 questions
When does Monster Hunter Wilds come out on Switch 2?
How much is Monster Hunter Wilds on Switch 2?
How big is Monster Hunter Wilds on Switch 2?
Is Monster Hunter Wilds on Switch 2 cross-play?
Does the Switch 2 version include the free updates?
What is the Monster Hunter Wilds Switch 2 pre-order bonus?
File size and the free Prologue Demo
Nintendo’s listing estimates the game at 41,943,040,000 bytes, which the eShop shows as 39.1 GB. That figure is an estimate, and the final size may differ once the launch build is out. If you also keep big games like Metaphor: ReFantazio or Stellar Blade installed, our Switch 2 storage calculator shows whether you need a microSD Express card.
What the demo carries over
- The Prologue Demo is free on the Switch 2 eShop: the US listing has a “Download demo” link next to the Pre-order button. Nintendo Life reports it went live on 19 October in North America and 20 October in Europe.
- It runs from character creation to Chapter 1-3, “To the Forest”, and your demo save carries over to the full game (per Nintendo Life).
- You can play it with friends nearby over local wireless, but online multiplayer is switched off in the demo.
- It needs about 12.8 GB of free space. Delete it after launch if storage is tight, because the save transfers on its own.
Switch 2 price vs Steam
Nintendo’s version costs the same as the PC version: $39.99 for the game and $79.99 for the Gold Edition on both the eShop and Steam. When we checked Steam on 26 October, it was also selling the base game for $29.99, with the offer ending 3 November. So the Switch 2 pre-order price is not a Switch-only discount, but it does last a month longer.
What the Switch 2 version includes
- Every free Title Update, including the Grand Hub, returning monsters such as Lagiacrus, and the Final Fantasy XIV Online collaboration (Capcom).
- TV, tabletop and handheld modes, HDR output on compatible TVs and linear PCM surround sound (Nintendo listing).
- Local wireless co-op for 1–4 Switch 2 players, plus online co-op for 1–4 players with cross-play. Online play needs Nintendo Switch Online.
- Save Data Cloud backup through Nintendo Switch Online.
Paying with a Nintendo eShop card
You can pay for the game, the pre-order and the Gold Edition with Nintendo eShop funds. In our store, US eShop cards come as Nintendo $10, Nintendo $20, Nintendo $35 and Nintendo $50 codes. They only redeem on a US Nintendo Account, and our eShop card redeem guide walks through it. You also need Nintendo Switch Online to hunt online.
| What you want | US price | Cards that cover it | Left over (before tax) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Edition, pre-order (to 3 Dec) | $29.99 | $35 | $5.01 |
| Standard Edition, after 3 Dec | $39.99 | $20 + $20, or $50 | $0.01 / $10.01 |
| Gold Edition | $79.99 | $50 + $20 + $10 | $0.01 |
| Cosmetic DLC Collection (add-on) | $59.99 | $50 + $10 | $0.01 |
| Pre-order + DLC Collection later | $89.98 | $50 + $35 + $10 | $5.02 |
Because of sales tax, a combination that lands one cent under the price can come up short at checkout. In states that tax digital games, the $35 card is the safe choice for the $29.99 pre-order, and $50 + $35 is safer than $50 + $20 + $10 for the Gold Edition.
More Switch 2 releases: Metaphor: ReFantazio on Switch 2 (12 November), Stellar Blade on Switch 2 (5 November), the Pikmin 4 Switch 2 Edition and its $9.99 upgrade pack (12 November) and our GTA 6 release date guide (19 November, PS5 and Xbox only).
Rayyan covers console and PC gaming wallets for Virtwave, with deep specialism in PlayStation Network, Xbox, Razer Gold and Steam. He has been writing about digital gaming commerce since 2020.
Sources & how we checked this
We read every date, price and size on 26 October 2026, between 03:00 and 04:00 UTC. We used a browser set to the US Nintendo eShop, pulled Nintendo’s public price data for the US, Canada, the UK, Germany and Australia, and read Steam’s prices from its US store. Capcom’s own Monster Hunter site would not load from our location, so we took Capcom’s statements from its Steam announcements and from its announcement as published by Gematsu. Anything we did not see ourselves is attributed in the text.
- Monster Hunter Wilds for Nintendo Switch 2 (Nintendo US store: date, price, pre-order bonus, estimated size, play modes, players)
- Monster Hunter Wilds Gold Edition for Nintendo Switch 2 (Nintendo US store: contents and premium bonuses)
- Monster Hunter Wilds (Nintendo UK: date, PEGI 16, Gold Edition TBD)
- From August 4, Monster Hunter Wilds is Available at a New Price (Capcom on Steam)
- The massive expansion Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance is coming in 2027! (Capcom on Steam)
- Monster Hunter Wilds on Steam (US price, sale end date)
- Monster Hunter Wilds for Switch 2 launches December 4 (Gematsu, 9 September 2026: Capcom’s announcement, physical edition, cross-play)
- Monster Hunter Wilds free Prologue Demo (Nintendo Life, October 2026: demo size, save transfer, Game-Key Card)
How we write these guides: our editorial policy. We will update this page at launch with the unlock time, the final download size and the first performance reports.
