Monster Hunter Wilds performance can drop to 20 FPS with no DLC but exceed 80 FPS with many DLCs due to a DLC verification bug. Learn about the optimization issue and workarounds.
© A. Krivonosov
According to media reports and a community investigation, the performance of Monster Hunter Wilds can vary significantly depending on the number of DLCs linked to a Steam account—even with identical hardware and settings.
A Reddit user highlighted the issue by comparing the game's performance across two accounts. On the first account, which had no DLC, frame rates in the same locations dropped to 20–25 FPS. On the second account, with many active DLCs, frame rates exceeded 80 FPS in those same areas.
The cause is believed to be the DLC verification mechanism. The investigation's author suggests that with few or no DLCs, this process creates increased CPU load. Paradoxically, more DLC entries on an account reduce the computational work required, boosting frame rates, especially on mid-range or entry-level CPUs.
To rule out external factors, tests were conducted in a strictly controlled environment. Identical graphics settings, saves, character positions, camera angles, and software versions were used. Moreover, the results were replicated on several different computers, not just one specific system.
For further hypothesis testing, a temporary workaround was applied to bypass the most resource-intensive part of DLC verification without unlocking content. Performance then surged sharply, even with unchanged CPU clock speeds. FPS gains remained nearly linear up to about 100 DLC entries, after which they hit GPU limitations.
If confirmed, this appears to be an optimization issue rather than an intentional developer decision. Some discussion participants speculate that such a bug might have gone unnoticed during internal testing if developer builds defaulted to having "all DLCs" activated, completely avoiding the slow verification scenario.
A high number of Steam API calls is also mentioned as another potential source of the problem. The findings have been reported to Capcom's support, and Digital Foundry has reportedly contacted the author for further analysis.