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Monster Hunter Wilds Got Its First Major 2026 Performance Patch

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Capcom has just released the first major 2026 performance patch for the PC version of Monster Hunter Wilds. Moreover, the devs have acknowledged the DLC bug that can increase the CPU requirements in the camps.

The January 28th Update, also known as Patch 1.040.03.01, brings several improvements to the Steam version of the game. First, it reduces how much CPU power is used during shader warming, which happens outside the shader compilation screen. It also changes how the game loads textures, so the graphics look better while using less VRAM. Finally, the High Resolution Texture Pack has been updated to use less VRAM and take up less space overall.

And that’s not all. This new patch also adds a CPU tab in the Options menu, letting players change settings that affect CPU usage. The graphics settings have been expanded too, with new categories and more options. The Volumetric Fog setting now has five levels instead of two. The old “High” setting is now called “Highest,” and the old “Low” is now “High.” Three new lower levels – “Medium,” “Low,” and “Lowest” – have been added. The patch also fixes a bug where the game wrongly told players that their AMD Radeon driver was outdated, even when they were using version 26.1.1 or newer.

As I said, Capcom has confirmed the DLC CPU issues we reported a while ago. As the devs said, this bug caused the FPS to drop only in the Base Camp and Grand Hub. The extent of the FPS drop depended on whether you had any unclaimed content. However, the number of DLCs you own did not affect it. A fix for this bug will be implemented in Patch 1.041.

Patch 1.041 will release on February 18th. The developers say it will improve stability and performance on all platforms, along with other upgrades. For example, they are testing a way to reduce GPU load by adding new quality levels (LOD) to 3D models. This system can lower processing demands by switching distant objects to low-resolution models when they are far from the camera.

Like always, Steam will download the January 28th Update the next time you launch its client. Below, you can also find its complete changelog.

Monster Hunter Wilds Patch 1.040.03.01 Release Notes

Major Additions and Changes

  • Improved CPU/GPU processing specific to the Steam version.
    • Reduced shader warming processes performed outside the shader compilation screen to lower CPU load.
    • Adjusted texture streaming to improve visual quality while reducing VRAM usage.
    • Adjusted the High Resolution Texture Pack to reduce VRAM usage and overall package size.
  • Added a CPU tab to the Options menu, allowing players to adjust settings related to CPU load.
  • Added new categories to the graphics settings, along with new settings for existing options.
  • Adjusted graphic presets and added a confirmation window to automatically update your settings on first launch after updating.
  • Expanded the Volumetric Fog setting in the graphics options from two levels to five. The previous “High” setting has been renamed to “Highest,” and “Low” to “High,” with three new lower options—”Medium,” “Low,” and “Lowest”—now available.
  • Fixed an issue where a warning dialogue incorrectly indicated that the AMD Radeon driver was outdated when using driver version 26.1.1 or later.

Bug Fixes and Balance Adjustments

  • Fixed an issue where system load could increase around the Support Desk at Base Camp or the Grand Hub due to claimed content status checks.
  • Adjusted Variable Rate Shading behavior so it is forced off during upscaling to maintain proper effect visuals.
  • Fixed other miscellaneous issues.