‘Monster Hunter World’ Surpasses 10 Million Shipped, Boosts Capcom’s Profits

By Stefanie Fogel

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Capcom’s income more than doubled in the first fiscal half of 2018 thanks to the continuing success of “Monster Hunter World,” it said in an earnings report on Monday.

The video game publisher’s net sales were reportedly up to 43.3 billion yen for the six months ending Sept. 30, up 28.5% year-over-year. Operating income more than doubled to 10.5 billion yen, the highest it’s been at the end of a second quarter in company history. Ordinary income also more than doubled to 10.3 billion.

’s financial results were mainly driven by “Monster Hunter World,” which launched on Jan. 26. It’s surpassed 10 million copies shipped since then — a first for any single title in Capcom’s history. It gained even more popularity — and further boosted profits — in August when the Steam version launched on PC.

Digital titles like “Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection” and the “Mega Max X Legacy Collection” also performed well thanks to a dedicated fan base and strong brand capabilities, Capcom said. “Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate,” which launched on Nintendo Switch in August, enjoyed “robust sales owing to its consistent popularity.”

Meanwhile, Capcom’s Pachinko business is struggling in what it calls a “weak market environment.” While the publisher launched “Street Fighter V” and “Rockman Ability” products, sales were not great due to the downturn in consumer confidence and dampening investments by Pachinko hall operators, it said. Capcom’s Arcade Games business was also generally week due to a lack of new products.

Capcom said it’s not changing the forecast for its consolidated business results for the current fiscal year.