Today, Capcom’s Monster Hunter World (finally) arrived for PC through Steam, less than 24 hours after it was revealed that one of the game’s most popular monsters, Rathalos, is making its way into the world of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. With how massively successful Monster Hunter World has been for Capcom, it is hard to imagine that there were any doubts regarding the series’ first big move to the West, though according to Chief Operating Officer Stuart Turner and Marketing Director Antoine Molant, doing so was a huge risk for the publisher.

In a recent interview with Gamesindustry, Turner revealed that there was a significant amount of support for getting Monster Hunter pushed to the Western market, though there was also a significant amount of risk involved as well. “In my 12 years of being here, the drum has been banged that Monster Hunter could sell easily in the West if it was on the right platform and if it embraced online gaming,” Turner began.

It was a big risk for the Japanese developers to go and do something that might cut off their own fanbase. They were guaranteed three or four million sales in Japan. For a risk-averse Japanese company, that’s a great big gamble. Having said that, Japan bought the game in its millions.”

Molant responded to Turner’s statement, revealing that the risk was at least partially lessened thanks to Sony’s support for the game. “The risk was mitigated by Sony’s support, and Sony Japan in particular, who felt Monster Hunter coming to home consoles was going to sell some PS4s… and they were right.” Thanks to how hugely successful Monster Hunter World has been, Capcom is now looking to the future of the franchise, one that will thankfully now involve less concerns about including what is now a massive Western audience for the games.

It was almost a new IP in some markets. Even in some of our more mature European markets, it is still fairly unknown. It has obviously done really well and now the goal is to push on and make it more of a success in the West with the next iterations.”

Monster Hunter World is now available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

So, thoughts on the risks Capcom took for Monster Hunter World? Do you own the game on console, or have you been waiting to purchase it through Steam? Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers for all the latest gaming and entertainment news! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for our 24/7 news feed!