For a new group on compatible platforms, we recommend Rise if the priority is getting into hunts together with a straightforward quest routine. Wilds is the stronger starting point when crossplay brings your friends together, while World suits a group drawn to tracking monsters through detailed environments. You do not need to play them in release order.
| For your group | Rise | Wilds | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting together | Hub: solo or together. Village: solo. | Shared hunts between separate story steps. | Story cutscenes before joining hunts. |
| Crossplay | PS4 ↔ PS5; Xbox ↔ Microsoft Store PC. Steam and Switch are separate. | Steam ↔ PS5 ↔ Xbox Series X|S, with crossplay enabled. | No crossplay between PC, PlayStation and Xbox. |
| Main appeal | Wirebug mobility and a clear quest routine. | Crossplay and optional Support Hunters. | Tracking through detailed environments. |
Rise: a straightforward routine for group hunts
Rise separates Village Quests from Hub Quests. The Village is a solo introduction; the Hub supports solo and multiplayer progression. You can take the Hub route without first completing the Village story. For friends starting together, that distinction is useful: agree to work through the Hub, rather than spending your first evening wondering why nobody can join a Village Quest.
Once the opening setup is done, create a lobby, have one person post a Hub Quest and let the others join it from the Quest Board. You do not all need to post the quest separately to earn completion credit, but everyone must meet its entry requirements. The quests scale with party size, so a pair can follow this route without recruiting two strangers.
Movement is a large part of Rise's appeal. Wirebugs let you launch through the air and use weapon-specific techniques; riding a Palamute gets you across the map while letting you sharpen or use items. That gives the group plenty to experiment with between encounters. The extra movement also adds controls to learn, so a convenient multiplayer structure does not mean effortless combat.
We recommend this setup for friends who want an evening built around choosing targets and improving their equipment. For example, complete a quest needed for progression, then hunt a familiar monster again for crafting materials. Everyone has a concrete reason to join the next outing without needing to follow every part of the solo story together.
Check the platform combination before buying
All three support online hunts for up to four human players. None offers split-screen co-op: each person needs their own device and access to the same game. On consoles, online play also requires the appropriate platform subscription. Wilds requires the latest game update for online play.
- Wilds: Steam, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S players can hunt together with crossplay enabled.
- World: PC, PlayStation and Xbox are separate multiplayer groups. Buying Iceborne does not connect them.
- Rise: PS4 and PS5 can play together; Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and the Microsoft Store version on Windows can play together. Steam and Nintendo Switch have their own separate player pools. A Steam copy cannot join an Xbox friend.
Rise on Switch also supports local wireless play, with a separate console and copy for each player. That is different from sharing one television.
Planning for Switch 2? As of 30 October 2026, Wilds is scheduled for 4 December 2026, with crossplay and local wireless play announced. Until release, it is not an option for starting the full game together.
Wilds: crossplay, allies and story breaks
If one friend is on PS5 and another on Steam, Wilds settles a question the other two cannot. It also offers a useful option when only part of your regular group is available: on ordinary four-slot hunts, two players can bring two Support Hunters, or switch that assistance off and hunt as a pair. You call these computer-controlled allies with an SOS flare when your multiplayer settings allow Support Hunters. Their faints do not count towards the quest's failure limit.
For playing with specific friends, form a Link Party. Its members receive invitations when someone starts a quest, even if they are in different lobbies. An Environment Link serves another purpose: it brings that group into the host's environment to explore and hunt there together. Being connected through one system does not mean every part of the story becomes a shared walk across the map.
During the campaign, expect introductory sections, conversations and some cutscene steps to separate you before a hunt becomes joinable. Keep your story progress aligned and join when the quest invitation becomes available. You can share much of the campaign, but should plan for those separate story steps.
In the field, the Seikret mount can guide you towards a target while you heal or sharpen, and it carries a second weapon. That offers a practical way to try different equipment during an outing. The changing weather and roaming monsters make the surrounding landscape part of the attraction, especially for a group that likes exploring between fights.
Focus Mode also gives you more direct control over where attacks and guards are aimed, and highlights wounds and exposed weak points. For a beginner trying to hit a particular body part, that makes the intended target easier to read. It still leaves you learning when the monster will let you attack safely.
World: tracking and campaign cutscenes
World is our recommendation when following a monster is part of the evening you want. You collect traces, use Scoutflies to follow the trail and move through environments where creatures can clash with each other. Looking for a route through the forest or noticing another monster entering the area helps give the hunt a sense of place.
Its main obstacle for a fresh group is the campaign's handling of cutscenes. In story-based Assigned Quests, players must see the required scene before joining. That can mean everyone starts their own quest, reaches the introduction and then regroups in one player's hunt once multiplayer is available. An invitation alone cannot skip that prerequisite.
Once you are repeating familiar hunts or taking suitable optional quests, those first-encounter restrictions are less intrusive. World therefore suits friends who are happy to alternate discovery, a little separate story progress and shared hunts. If repeatedly coordinating that handover sounds irritating, Rise's Hub route is a better match for your first group campaign.
Decide how much help you want while learning
All three revolve around learning weapons and monsters while crafting better equipment. Repeating a hunt is part of that progression, rather than a sign that the group has chosen the wrong game. Before moving on, check that everyone has the quest requirements and the equipment they want to work on; one friend's unlocked mission is not a shortcut past everybody else's prerequisites.
World and Rise both offer optional equipment intended to speed up the base game. World has Defender weapons and Guardian armour; Rise also has Defender weapons and boosted armour sets. They can help a newcomer catch up, but they change how urgently you need to craft replacements. For a group discovering the equipment system together, we recommend starting with ordinary gear and choosing the stronger assistance if that suits you better.
Wilds' Support Hunters offer a different kind of help: extra allies alongside your human group. Sunbreak, Rise's expansion, also has a Follower system, but its selectable Followers are for solo play. Do not buy it expecting to add two of those companions to a two-player session.
Choose your weapons by the actions you enjoy learning. An illustrative group might put one hunter with a hammer near the monster's head while another uses a cutting weapon on the tail. You can also repeat weapon types. The useful decision is where each of you can contribute safely, not assigning someone a permanent support job before they have tried the controls.
Base games, expansions and the Wilds demo
Iceborne expands World, and Sunbreak expands Rise. Neither expansion is needed to begin the corresponding base game's co-op. Iceborne's campaign requires finishing World's main story and reaching Hunter Rank 16; Sunbreak requires completing the seven-star urgent Hub Quest “Serpent Goddess of Thunder” in Rise. Each player needs the relevant expansion to join its content, as well as meeting its progression requirements.
As of 30 October 2026, Wilds: Ascendance is announced for 2027; it is not needed to start the base game. Compare bundles by whether they contain the base game and the expansion you actually want; extra outfits are a separate consideration.
For a PC group considering Wilds, the free Prologue Demo on Steam is a useful first check of the controls and how it runs on each computer. It has no online features, so it cannot test your group's multiplayer connection. Check the current requirements for whichever game you choose, rather than assuming that running World or Rise means a PC is ready for Wilds.
Choose the first evening you want to share
Before buying, agree on one simple plan: which compatible versions you will use, which quests you will progress together and whether you want optional assistance. If repeated hunts and equipment crafting are not what your group wants, explore our selection of co-op RPGs for other kinds of shared adventure.
