You can play ‘Monster Hunter Wilds’ this weekend ahead of full launch

11 February, 2025

'Monster Hunter Wilds'

Monster Hunter Wilds is hosting an extended open beta this weekend, allowing fans the chance to play a version of the game early.

Monster Hunter Wilds is the follow-up to 2021’s Rise and has been described as “the ultimate Monster Hunter experience,” by developers.

The full game is due for release February 28 but fans have been able to play an early version of the game during a series of open beta tests. Last weekend’s test was interrupted due to the PlayStation network going offline for 24 hours, meaning fans couldn’t access the game.

During the downtime, publisher Capcom said: “To account for reduced play time due to the outage, we are considering running [a test] for an additional 24 hours at a future date.” They’ve now announced an extended beta test will take place this weekend for PlayStation, Xbox and PC gamers.

“Hunters, we’re pleased to confirm that due to the PlayStation Network outage that occurred during the first week of OBT2, we’re extending the second week of OBT2 by +24 hours on all platforms!” The test will start at 3am Friday morning (February 14) and run until 2:59am Tuesday morning (February 18).

According to a blog, new monsters, special training areas and quests will be available during this weekend’s test while gamers can also earn bonus items for participating.

Sony hasn’t revealed what caused the PlayStation Network to go offline but has blamed it on “operational issues”, rather than a hack. In 2011, the system went offline for nearly a month following a deliberate attack. The company has offered an additional 5 days membership to anyone with an active subscription but the compensation hasn’t gone down well with a number of fans.

In other news, it’s been confirmed that Roblox is involved in an “active investigation” by the US Government. The US Securities and Exchange Commission, whose primary goal is to crack down on manipulation of financial markets, hasn’t revealed any more details about the case so it doesn’t bring “harm to the ongoing enforcement proceedings”.

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