According to a new report from VentureBeat"s Jeff Grubb, Microsoft is working with developer Certain Affinity on a new Monster Hunter-like exclusive. This was independently verified by Windows Central"s Jez Corden as well. Certain Affinity is known for being a support studio on various games from Left 4 Dead to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered. The team has also worked with Microsoft before on many of the Halo games.
If the reports are true, this may be Certain Affinity"s biggest project yet. Microsoft wants to diversify the type of titles available on Xbox Game Pass, and having a Monster Hunter-like exclusive is crucial to that strategy. Grubb said the following on a Giant Bomb show.
They"re working with Certain Affinity on what seems like a Monster Hunter-style game ... a Monster Hunter clone. They see this gameplay style succeeding ... They want more variety in the kinds of games they"re putting on Game Pass and this is an example of that.
According to Windows Central, the game may be unveiled in 2023 and released in 2024. It"s been in development since the middle of 2020. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, these timelines may shift because of the work-from-home nature many game developers have adopted to keep their staff safe.
Hopefully, Certain Affinity will be able to pull it off. It"ll be interesting to see the result of their work in the coming years. Microsoft has announced games too early before — like Scalebound — only to cancel them later because development didn"t go well. Gamers shouldn"t expect an announcement anytime soon due to that.