Summary
Monster Hunter Wildsis undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated games of 2025, despite the year being immensely stacked with other big titles as well. WhileMonster Hunter Wildsis followingMonster Hunter Rise, it’s technically a successor to the 2018 hit that brought the franchise into the mainstream,Monster Hunter: World. Ultimately,Monster Hunter Wildsis an action RPG that builds upon the foundation established byMonster Hunter:World, with its seamless open world and lifelike ecosystems, alongside some new mechanics like the Seikret mount and aFocus modedesigned to help players target their attacks more efficiently. However, despite in every way being an action RPG and in every way also being aMonster Huntergame,Monster Hunter Wildshas been tagged as a dating sim on Steam.
To put it plainly,Monster Hunter Wildsis not a dating sim, nor has anyMonster Huntertitle before it ever been a dating sim. Appropriately defined, a dating sim (short for dating simulation) is a type of video game that focuses on building romantic relationships between the player character and potential love interests. Obviously, this is a far cry from whatMonster Hunterhas ever been and most likely ever will be. After all, the name of the game isMonster Hunter, not “Romance Finder.” In light of that, why isMonster Hunter Wildstagged as a dating sim on Steam?
Monster Hunter Wilds' Dating Sim Story
Steam Tags Are a Folksonomy
Steam tagscan be extremely helpful for those looking for a specific genre or type of gameplay, and with how many different layers there are to games these days, it makes sense why the system still exists. However, at the end of the day, Steam tags are a folksonomy, meaning they are a user-generated system of classifying and organizing online content into different categories. This ultimately means that users can log into Steam at any point, navigate to the platform’s tags section, and then add a custom tag.
Monster Hunter Wildsis not a dating sim, nor has anyMonster Huntertitle before it ever been a dating sim.
As long as a tag adheres to Steam’s community guidelines, it can then begin receiving upvotes from other users if they agree with the tag. While approved tags will continue to stick around, even if they don’t receive votes, they’re unlikely to appear more prominently on Steam’s store page. As such,Steam usersare encouraged to add tags that actually apply to a video game or can at least offer substantial help to other users who are attempting to locate a particular game on the platform. This is whereMonster Hunter Wildscomes in, which has been humorously categorized by users as a dating sim.
Why Users Tagged Monster Hunter Wilds as a Dating Sim
Monster Hunter Wilds' dating sim story dates back to June 2024, after one of its first gameplay trailers shown off during a PlayStation State of Play revealed a first look at the characterGemma,Monster Hunter Wilds' Smithy. For only around 12 seconds, Gemma gets the spotlight in said trailer, but that was more than enough time for fans to become smitten with her. Within a week,Monster Hunter Wildswas tagged as a dating sim on Steam, as fans took to social media to express their playful affection for Gemma.
Some Steam users who aren’t aware of how its tag system works are likely to be in for a big surprise afterMonster Hunter Wildslaunches in Februaryand is absolutely nothing like a dating sim. Of course, that’s probably reaching, as the joke about the game being a dating sim is almost common knowledge at this point. Still, it shows both how humorous the Steam community can be and probably gives a decent indication of how much time someMonster Hunter Wildsplayers are going to spend watching Gemma craft their weapons and armor.
