Niantic developing Monster Hunter Now for mobile

Niantic Labs has done well with Pokémon Go. The game has been a smashing success with fans of the Pokémon series, especially the live game events where players travel to a specific location to find rare Pokémon. Monster Hunter Now will share the same augmented reality technology where players can find monsters in the real world.

"The notion of majestic monsters roaming around city streets was extremely compelling as a real-world game," Kei Kawai, Niantic's chief product officer, said during an online press briefing.

Monster Hunter Now will retain the 14 distinct weapon classes from the series. However, players may be switching weapons more frequently in the upcoming mobile title. The developer hopes that players try out more weapons which is a departure from other titles in the series which encourage mastery and specialization of a weapon type.

The battles in Monster Hunter Now will only last a maximum of 75 seconds. The developer aims to capture the essence of Monster Hunter battles in a short window that is suitable for outdoor play. Some of the mainline titles have prolonged battles that can last more than ten minutes.

The Monster Hunter series isn't as popular as the Pokémon franchise. However, the game's popularity has increased in recent years as titles have been released on multiple platforms. Capcom and Niantic hope to have another hit on their hands with the upcoming mobile title.

"I strongly believe we have a hit on our hands," Kawai said. "We do want to have this game last a very long time."

Capcom is also partnering with Tencent's TiMi Studiosto make a mobile Monster Hunter game. The upcoming title will recreate the same Monster Hunter experience for smartphone users.

Monster Hunter Now is coming to Android and iOS in September.