The latest expansion for Monster Hunter World: Iceborne has shipped 5 million copies worldwide.
First released on console in September and followed by the PC release in January, the premium expansion has been met with critical and fan acclaim, with support for the expansion – which up until now has seen console players getting new content ahead of their PC peers – unifying by the end of April (thanks, VGC).
Launched in January 2018, Monster Hunter World shifted 5 million units during its opening weekend, hitting 7.5 million copies sold by March 31st and helping Capcom to double its profits and making the game Capcom’s biggest selling title of all-time. The “mega-hit” game hit 13.1 million units shipped as of June 30, 2019 – “the first title in Capcom’s history to achieve this record-high” – and at Friday, March 13th, the franchise has reached 62 million cumulative sales owed in part to its release on PC.
Of course, Capcom’s recent success isn’t solely attributable to Monster Hunter World; Resident Evil VII, Resident Evil 2 (Remake), Monster Hunter XX on Switch (a Japan-only title), and Switch-exclusive Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers also contributed to Capcom’s recent solid fiscal performance.
“Capcom plans to carry out a number of initiatives to further cement the series’ position as a global brand, such as with a Hollywood film adaptation of Monster Hunter, a first for the series, scheduled for a September 2020 release,” the company said.
Koei Tecmo Games was recently ordered to pay Capcom almost $1.5 million in compensation after a court agreed that Koei Tecmo had infringed upon two of Capcom’s patent. The ¥157 million settlement – which consists of ¥144m in damages and ¥13.1m in legal fees – follows a court case that was filed in 2014 accusing Koei Tecmo of infringing upon Patent #3350773 (Patent A) and Patent #3295771 (Patent B). Initially, the courts threw out the Patent A claim, but a ruling from the Intellectual Property High Court has reversed that decision and now recognises that Capcom’s patents were infringed upon.
