Monster Hunter X Ships 3 Million Copies, Series Total Hits 36 Million

Capcom's Monster Hunter X has reached a new shipment milestone. The publisher has announced that the 3DS RPG--released in Japan at the end of November--has now shipped 3 million units in Japan. This figure includes digital copies of the game sold through the eShop, Capcom explained in a statement.

In its statement, Capcom specifically called out how Monster Hunter X reached 3 million units in just one month, but no comparisons to other games in the series were made.

The Monster Hunter series debuted in 2004. As of December 24, it had reached cumulative sales of 36 million-plus units, up from 33 million earlier this year. That makes Monster Hunter one of Capcom's most successful franchises, joining Resident Evil, Dead Rising, and Devil May Cry.

Monster Hunter X is not the only Monster Hunter success story this year for Capcom. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, released in the west earlier this year, has shipped more than 4 million copies.

Capcom will continue to promote the Monster Hunter series will new initiatives in 2016. These include a "Monster Hunter Festa '16" event across five major cities in Japan and a new "Monster Hunter the Real" attraction at Universal Studios Japan.

Looking ahead, a new Monster Hunter game, Monster Hunter Stories, is coming to Japan next year. In addition, a Monster Hunter animated series, the first ever, is in development for Japan.