Capcom’s free Monster Hunter Wilds Prologue Demo for Nintendo Switch 2 went live on 19 October Pacific time, and reached the UK and Europe on 20 October, according to a post on the official Monster Hunter account on X. Capcom gives the timing as “Oct 19 PT / Oct 20 BST”.

Capcom says save data from the demo carries into the full Switch 2 version, which launches on 4 December 2026.

The Capcom demo page says the demo “allows you to play the beginning of Monster Hunter Wilds with the exact same content as the full version.” It adds that the save “can be carried over to the full game, allowing you to pick up right where you left off.”

Multiplayer in the demo is limited to local play between Switch 2 consoles.

The demo page states that “Online Multiplayer is not available in the Prologue Demo”. The page says that after a quest begins, a hunter can send an SOS Flare to call up to three other hunters from all over the world. In the demo, firing an SOS Flare “will call in NPC Support Hunters to assist you.”

Capcom’s post on X says local play “will be supported in the demo so you can play with friends”. Nintendo Life reports that this covers friends and family who also have a Switch 2, and that digital pre-orders for the Switch 2 version open on the same date as the demo.

Gematsu reports that the game is already available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC via Steam.

The demo is also available on those platforms, according to Gematsu. Nintendo Life adds that “full cross-platform play” and a Game-Key Card release have been confirmed for the Switch 2 version, as well as a Switch 2 bundle in Japan.

How to carry your save over

Capcom’s demo page sets out the steps for moving a save from the demo into the full game.

  1. Update the full version of the game to the latest version.
  2. Select the same user account that was used for the Prologue Demo before launching the full game.
  3. Start the full game with the demo save data on the system. When prompted with “Save data has been found for the Monster Hunter Wilds Prologue Demo. Carry over your save data?”, select “Yes”.
  4. From the title menu, select Start Game > Select Saved Data, then choose the save data created in the Prologue Demo to resume from where you left off.

Capcom says any options or settings configured in the demo also carry over to the full game.

The Switch 2 version of Monster Hunter Wilds launches on 4 December 2026. A major expansion, Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance, is due in 2027, according to Gematsu and Nintendo Life.

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