Monster Hunter Wilds launched in a rough state last year, with performance issues across the board that made it difficult for many to enjoy the latest entry in the series. Following multiple updates, however, the game is in a much better state, especially on PC, and runs way more smoothly on a bigger number of system configurations.
Even so, the development team is not yet done improving the technical state of Monster Hunter Wilds, as tomorrow's update will introduce additional CPU and GPU optimizations to reduce load and improve the overall experience.
These new optimizations have been confirmed by the full update notes for update 1.041.00.00, which is scheduled to launch on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, 2:30 a.m. UTC (Tuesday, February 17th, 2026, 6:30 p.m. PT). These include:
- Reduced CPU/GPU processing and made adjustments to lower the load on the game.
- Added internal Levels of Detail (LOD) for 3D models, adjusting them to display optimal quality based on the situation to reduce GPU load.
- Optimized monster and endemic life spawn-time processing to reduce CPU load.
- Added effect caching to decrease CPU load when generating duplicate effects.
- Optimized rendering processes to reduce CPU/GPU load.
- Performed other minor adjustments to lower the overall load.
Besides including these new CPU and GPU optimizations, the final major Monster Hunter Wilds update will introduce Arch-tempered Arkveld via a permanent Event Quest, and new 10-star difficulty quests for Arch-tempered Rey Dau, Arch-tempered Uth Duna, Arch-tempered Nu Udra, and Arch-tempered Jin Dahaad. It will also introduce a Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection Special Collaboration side mission, along with plenty of other new features. You can find all the details on the game's official website.
In addition, the new update also includes some strong indications that more challenges involving Tempered Gogmazios and Tempered Zoh Shia could be on the way.
With the final major update launching this week, the Monster Hunter Wilds development team is likely shifting its full focus to the Master Rank expansion confirmed last week. Hopefully, it will introduce interesting new mechanics on par with those of Iceborne and Sunbreak, besides additional monsters and a higher difficulty tier to their base games.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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