Can the Steam Deck Run Monster Hunter Wilds?

As the Steam Deck  celebrates its third birthday, owners are coming to terms with the reality that their portable PC gaming machine may not be able to play every new game, especially those AAA pixel-pushers on the caliber of Capcom's Monster Hunter Wilds. 

Monster Hunter Wilds is the latest entry in the franchise that comes out on Friday. The series, known for fighting giant monsters, needs powerful hardware to run its games smoothly. The Steam Deck does pack a lot of power in a portable gaming device , but is it enough to handle Monster Hunter Wilds?

Is Monster Hunter Wilds Steam Deck Verified?

Monster Hunter Wilds is not yet Steam Deck verified. This doesn't mean the game can't be played on the Steam Deck. The "verified" designation is for games that have controller support, support the default resolution of the Steam Deck, no compatibility issues and support the Steam Deck's Proton system. 

What are the Monster Hunter Wilds specs?

Here are the minimum and recommended PC specs for Monster Hunter Wilds. 

And here are the Steam Deck specs: 

Can Monster Hunter Wilds run on Steam Deck? 

The verdict is yes, it can run on Steam Deck, but only barely. When I tried playing Monster Hunter Wilds on my Steam Deck at the lowest settings, the characters were blocky, with hardly any details and the game could barely get over 20fps. So the game can run on Steam Deck, however it's hardly playable. 

While Monster Hunter Wilds barely runs on the Steam Deck now, there is a chance it could get better. The PC version of the game is not optimized yet, which can take some time after the game's launch. Also, Capcom plans to release a large patch on launch day that could help performance a bit. 

Still, the final verdict is that the Steam Deck is not the platform you want to play Monster Hunter Wilds on. It's also available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.