The closest games like Monster Hunter Outlanders are the two other official Monster Hunter games on phones: Monster Hunter Now, where you hunt real series monsters on a map of your own town, and Monster Hunter Stories, a story RPG where you hatch and ride monsters. After those, try Toram Online for co-op monster grinding with gear you build up yourself, ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition for hunting and taming giant creatures, and Wuthering Waves or Genshin Impact if what hooked you is the open world plus collectible heroes.
Outlanders opened its servers on October 28 at 22:00 UTC (already October 29 in Asia) and was #4 in the US App Store’s top free games chart, and #1 in its Action chart, when we checked on October 30 at 19:56 UTC. All 12 picks below are live on both the US App Store and Google Play, with the developer matched on both stores. Ratings and prices were also checked on October 30.
Table of Contents
Quick answer: the best games like Monster Hunter Outlanders
- Real Monster Hunter monsters: Monster Hunter Now (free, location-based) and Monster Hunter Stories ($19.99, with a free starter version).
- Party up, beat a big monster, upgrade your gear: Toram Online, Diablo Immortal and Black Desert Mobile.
- Hunt, tame and ride huge creatures: ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition.
- Open world plus a gacha roster, like Outlanders’ Adventurers: Wuthering Waves, Genshin Impact, Tower of Fantasy, Solo Leveling: Arise and Punishing: Gray Raven.
- No gacha at all: Grimvalor, a $5.99 boss-heavy action game on iPhone that plays offline.
All 12 games at a glance
| Game | Developer | Price | Closest to Outlanders in | App Store | Google Play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monster Hunter Now | Scopely Explore | Free | Real MH monsters, co-op hunts | 4.7 (49K) | 4.5 (313K), 5M+ |
| Monster Hunter Stories | Capcom | $19.99 | MH world and monsters | 4.5 (1.2K) | 4.1 (16K), 100K+ |
| Toram Online | Asobimo | Free | Party monster hunts, gear building | 4.7 (18K) | 4.5 (1.0M), 10M+ |
| ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition | Studio Wildcard | Free | Hunting and taming creatures | 4.4 (14K) | 3.8 (146K), 10M+ |
| Diablo Immortal | Blizzard | Free | Co-op raids, world bosses | 4.7 (310K) | 4.7 (2.1M), 10M+ |
| Black Desert Mobile | Pearl Abyss | Free | Open-world action, taming | 4.6 (33K) | 3.9 (442K), 10M+ |
| Wuthering Waves | Kuro Games | Free | Open world, dodge-and-counter combat | 4.6 (60K) | 4.4 (528K), 10M+ |
| Genshin Impact | HoYoverse (Cognosphere) | Free | Open world, co-op bosses | 4.2 (580K) | 3.3 (5.2M), 100M+ |
| Tower of Fantasy | Perfect World Games | Free | Shared open world, weapon swapping | 4.3 (23K) | 3.5 (172K), 5M+ |
| Solo Leveling: Arise | Netmarble | Free | Hunters, dungeon and boss raids | 4.7 (59K) | 3.8 (721K), 10M+ |
| Punishing: Gray Raven | Kuro Games | Free | Fast boss-fight combat | 4.2 (8.7K) | 4.4 (181K), 5M+ |
| Grimvalor | Direlight | $5.99 (iOS) | Boss fights, no gacha | 4.9 (9.8K) | 4.7 (133K), 5M+ |
Ratings with the number of ratings in brackets; Google Play adds the download badge. Every free game here sells in-app purchases. For comparison, Monster Hunter Outlanders itself was rated 4.8 on the App Store (about 1,000 ratings) and 4.5 on Google Play (7.6K ratings) two days after launch.
What makes a game feel like Monster Hunter Outlanders?
Outlanders (by TiMi Studio Group, licensed by Capcom) mixes four things, per its store listing: an open world, big monster fights solo or in a 4-player squad, eight classic Monster Hunter weapons, and original Adventurers you recruit from gacha banners. No other game has all four, so the list is grouped by which part you want more of. New to Outlanders? Our Monster Hunter Outlanders beginner guide covers servers, weapons and the free launch pulls.
The other Monster Hunter games on mobile
1. Monster Hunter Now
The most direct swap. Monster Hunter Now puts series monsters on a real-world map: the habitat around you (Forest, Desert or Swamp) decides what shows up, and each hunt is a 75-second fight with tap controls. You forge weapons and craft armor sets, and you can team up with other hunters to take on the large monsters. Your Palico even marks passing monsters with Paintballs while the app is closed, so you can come back to them later. The difference from Outlanders: you have to walk around, and there’s no open world to roam. It’s listed under Scopely Explore on both stores and was last updated on October 13 (version 130.0, which closed out its 3rd anniversary event).
2. Monster Hunter Stories
Capcom’s Monster Hunter Stories flips the series: you play a Monster Rider who doesn’t hunt, but hatches monster eggs from dens and fights alongside the “Monsties” it raises, starting with a baby Rathalos. It costs $19.99 on both stores with no in-app purchases, and there’s a free version, MHST The Adventure Begins, whose save you can carry into the paid game. One catch: the iPhone version was last updated in January 2022 (Google Play’s in March 2026), so check the compatibility list before you buy.
Monster Hunter Stories trades hunting for riding: you hatch and raise Monsties instead of carving them. Image: Capcom
Capcom also has Monster Hunter Puzzles on both stores, a free match-3 game starring Felynes. It’s a fun Palico fix between hunts, but it isn’t an action game, so it isn’t in our 12.
Co-op monster hunts and gear grinding
3. Toram Online
Toram Online is the old favorite for players who want the Monster Hunter loop of “beat a big monster with friends, then make your gear stronger”. Asobimo’s MMORPG has no fixed classes: you pick a weapon (sword, staff, bow, halberd and more), build a skill tree, and the listing says monsters you can’t beat alone can be taken down with a party. Playing solo? You can borrow other players’ characters as mercenaries. You can also customize the abilities on your equipment as you go. It’s still actively updated: version 4.2.7 on October 22 added Halloween Event Chapter 11 and a new “Consecutive Refine” Smith skill.
Toram Online has no fixed classes, so each player in a party builds a different weapon and skill setup. Image: Asobimo
4. ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition
If what you love is the hunting itself (tracking down huge beasts in the wild), ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition is the pick. You tame and ride hundreds of creatures, from dinosaurs to fantasy species, team up with a tribe, and take on every boss challenge from the series. It includes the Island map plus the Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction and Genesis Part 1 and 2 expansions. It’s free, but needs iOS 18 or later and an extra 2 GB download on first launch. Google Play labels it “Contains ads”, and the App Store lists an ARK Pass at $4.99 a month. The mobile version is by Grove Street Games.
ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition lets you tame creatures and ride them into dangerous places like this lava cave. Image: Studio Wildcard
5. Diablo Immortal
Blizzard’s Diablo Immortal swaps wyverns for demons, but the co-op structure is close: small-group Warbands, co-op dungeons, raids and “massive world bosses”, plus seasonal events. It’s top-down rather than over-the-shoulder, so fights are about positioning more than reading one monster’s moves. The newest class is the Warlock, who fights with a permanent demon companion. It has cross-play with PC and is rated Mature 17+ on Google Play.
6. Black Desert Mobile
Black Desert Mobile is the pick if you want Outlanders-style open-world action inside a much bigger MMO. Pearl Abyss lists 14 classes with fast action combat, deep character customization, and “life” content such as fishing, taming, horses and your own camp. The October 27 update (4.16.88) added Chaos Rifts XVIII to XXI. Two things to know: the listing names an iPhone 12 Pro as the device requirement, and it includes random-item purchases.
Open-world action RPGs with a hero roster like Outlanders
7. Wuthering Waves
Kuro Games’ Wuthering Waves is the best fit if Outlanders’ dodge-and-punish combat is what you’re after. The listing highlights Extreme Evasion, Dodge Counter, Echo Skills and QTE moves, in an open world with no stamina limit for exploring, wall parkour, flight and a motorbike. You build a team of Resonators, the game’s gacha characters. The App Store listing says it won the Players’ Voice award at The Game Awards 2025.
8. Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact is the open-world gacha game most players already know: you climb, swim and glide anywhere, combine seven elements in fights, and team up with friends on other platforms for boss fights and domains. It’s lighter on “hunting” than Outlanders, but it’s the best-known option for co-op boss fights. Version 7.1 is live now, and 7.2 arrives on November 4 (see our Genshin 7.2 release date and banners post).
9. Tower of Fantasy
Tower of Fantasy (developer Hotta Studio, publisher Perfect World Games) is a shared open-world MMORPG, closer to Outlanders’ “party up any time” idea than Genshin. You switch weapons mid-fight to change your play style, which will feel familiar if you rotate weapon types in Outlanders. Version 6.4.0 (October 20) added a new Simulacrum, Wrenna, and a new main story chapter. It’s on PC too, and Google Play labels it “Contains ads”.
10. Solo Leveling: Arise
Netmarble’s Solo Leveling: Arise is literally about hunters: you clear “gates” and dungeons, fight bosses in raids, and turn the shadows of monsters you’ve beaten into soldiers. Combat leans on dodges and perfectly timed QTE skills. The 2.5th anniversary update added a 4-Hunter Mode and hands out 500 Special Summon Tickets. A console version, Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE, comes to PS5 and Xbox on November 4.
11. Punishing: Gray Raven
Punishing: Gray Raven, also from Kuro, is pure combat: you switch squad members mid-fight, parry and dodge, and chain combos against a mechanical army. There’s no open world, but it’s a strong pick if the boss fights are your favorite part of Outlanders. Version 4.8 added a new S-Rank character and a Kurumi Tokisaki collab.
A premium pick with no gacha
12. Grimvalor
Grimvalor is the opposite of a live-service game: a challenging hack-and-slash platformer with “epic boss fights”, upgradeable equipment and a full story. On iPhone it costs $5.99 with no ads or in-app purchases, works offline and supports MFi controllers. On Android the first act (1 to 2+ hours) is free and a single purchase unlocks all five acts, though Google Play shows a “Contains ads” label. It’s a good antidote if Outlanders’ banners wear you out.
Which one should you play?
- You want more Monster Hunter monsters: Monster Hunter Now, then Monster Hunter Stories (try the free version first).
- You play Outlanders mostly for 4-player squads: Toram Online or Diablo Immortal.
- You love tracking down and riding huge beasts: ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition.
- You love the combat and the Adventurer roster: Wuthering Waves, then Solo Leveling: Arise.
- You want no gacha and no ads: Grimvalor on iPhone.
Most of these are big downloads (Genshin Impact, Wuthering Waves, Tower of Fantasy and Punishing: Gray Raven are each 3.3 to 4 GB on the App Store), so leave room next to Outlanders, whose full client the developer puts at about 20 GB on iOS. For more open-world gacha picks, see our best anime mobile games list.
FAQ
What Monster Hunter games are on mobile?
Four are live on both the US App Store and Google Play: Monster Hunter Outlanders (Level Infinite), Monster Hunter Now (Scopely Explore), and Capcom’s own Monster Hunter Stories and Monster Hunter Puzzles. Monster Hunter Stories also has a free starter version, MHST The Adventure Begins.
Are there free games like Monster Hunter?
Yes. Ten of the 12 games here are free on both stores. The exceptions are Monster Hunter Stories ($19.99, with a free starter version) and Grimvalor ($5.99 on iPhone, free to try on Android). Monster Hunter Now is the closest free one, and every free pick sells in-app purchases.
Is Monster Hunter Outlanders on PC?
No. It’s only on the App Store and Google Play. Among the picks here, Diablo Immortal and Tower of Fantasy say in their listings that they’re on PC, and Genshin Impact lets you team up across platforms. When Outlanders first launched, we also covered its release date, regions and pre-registration rewards.
Sources: App Store: Monster Hunter Outlanders, Google Play: Monster Hunter Outlanders, Monster Hunter Outlanders official site, Apple US top free games feed, App Store and Google Play listings of all 12 games (checked October 30, 2026), Monster Hunter Now, Toram Online, Wuthering Waves, Direlight: Grimvalor.
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Featured image: AI-generated illustration
