Monster Hunter: World PC graphics options revealed

The date for Monster Hunter World's PC release was announced earlier today—it's going to be August 9, which is actually quite a bit closer than I expected—and we got some answers to questions from producer Royzo Tsujimoto about things like PC-specific controllers, cross-platform play, and mod support. We also received a handful of new screens, and included amongst them are shots of the advanced graphics settings that PC players will get to fiddle with.

Tsujimoto said in the above Q&A that the PC version of Monster Hunter: World will have visual "parity" with the console releases. Given the capabilities of high-end display adapters and the fact that we had to wait an extra eight months for the PC edition to arrive, that seems like an awfully low bar, and fans are clearly disappointed. But the range of options available in the graphics menu suggests that gamers with the right hardware will be able to achieve far more than just "as good as a PS4."

Let's start with the basics.

And now to the more interesting stuff. This is where the real magic takes place, with options ranging from texture quality and anti-aliasing to technical-sounding stuff that nobody really understands, like mesh lod level bias, subsurface scattering, and Z-prepass.

Collectively, it promises to enable a fine degree of control over the image quality and performance, and it makes me wonder why Capcom is only committing to a visual equivalence with the console versions, rather than flinging the doors open to whatever your hardware is capable of.

Perhaps it's just trying to manage expectations? Because the basic graphics options screen indicates that it's at least technically possible to play at 4K/60 fps with "high" visual settings enabled, but what sort of hardware you'll need to pull that off is anybody's guess. (In case you missed it, the "recommended" spec of a Core i7, GTX-1060, and 8GB RAM will is only rated for 1080p at 30fps on high.

One potential knock against the PC release is that it will make use of the Denuvo anti-tampering software, which some users claim has a negative impact on game performance.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.