Way of the Hunter 2 1.0 Launches on PC, PS5 and Xbox — Windows 11 Requirements and Missing Features

Windows players should look at the system requirements before buying. Steam lists Windows 11 as the minimum operating system, not just the recommended one. The game also needs a 64-bit CPU and OS, DirectX 12 and 38 GB of free storage. If your gaming PC is still on Windows 10, the publisher doesn't officially support it.

What changed, and what the publisher says it means​

THQ Nordic's launch announcement says that after six months in Early Access on PC, the ultimate hunting simulation is now ready for its full release on PC, PlayStation®5 and Xbox Series X|S. The publisher credits player feedback with shaping the game and says it and Nine Rocks used that time to implement your feedback and expand the world of Way of the Hunter 2 with a full herd of new features.

The launch release lists these headline features:

• Two named hunting reserves: New Laurentia in the North American wilderness and the African Kilimaya Reserve.
• Wildlife: big game from moose, elk and bison to lions, hippos and Nile crocodiles, plus small game and birds.
• Two-player co-op for hunting with a friend.
• A dog companion that helps track animals.
• Thermal night vision and suppressors for hunting in the dark and taking quieter shots.
• Habitat management: restoring habitats, removing pollution and clearing invasive species, which is meant to raise the fitness potential of local herds.
• Licensed gear from Bergara, Bushnell, Christensen Arms, CVA, DDoptics, Integrix, Leupold, Merkel, MDT, Primos, Stone Glacier, Strasser and ZEISS.

Two regions or three?​

The count depends on which source you read. The press release says there are two large hunting grounds. Steam's store page says the game is built around living ecosystems, advanced animal behavior, and three distinct hunting regions. The third area is a smaller Rocky Mountain hub map built around the Hearth & Hunt Headquarters. It's a lodge you can expand with extra rooms and trophy mounts, and you can explore the wilderness around it. So there are two main reserves plus a hub region with its own terrain.

Section summary: Version 1.0 is on PC (Steam and GOG), PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. It has two main reserves, a lodge hub, co-op, a tracking dog and night-hunting gear, and on PC it requires Windows 11.

What didn't make it into 1.0​

Nine Rocks was upfront about this before launch. In its "Road Ahead" post, the studio said that non-typical trophies, one of the most requested features, is also not ready for 1.0. It also confirmed that character customization, advanced dog training, animal senses influenced by weather, and some multiplayer improvements will come after launch. The studio says many are already close to being finished, but they need more polishing and testing.

This matters because the studio's August roadmap had listed non-typical trophies, new dog-training options and multiplayer among the work planned before 1.0. The "1.0" label doesn't mean every Early Access promise has shipped. It's better that the studio said so openly than let players find out after buying.

Early Access players have noticed. In the Steam community discussions, one person who had just started the game asked "The 1.0 is launched, but what are the new things ?" The launch announcement doesn't include a detailed 1.0 changelog, so the question makes sense.

Section summary: 1.0 is a milestone, not a finished product. Non-typical trophies, character customization, advanced dog training, weather-affected animal senses and some multiplayer improvements are officially post-launch work.

How the game got here​

The Early Access build that launched in March was playable but openly unfinished. It had the Canadian New Laurentia reserve, a selection of rifles, shotguns, bows and calls, a tracking dog, and a vehicle for getting around. It also moved the series to Unreal Engine 5.

The biggest change during Early Access came with update 0.2.0 on May 27, 2026. It added Kilimaya, a hunting ground of 100 km² (40 square miles), and 12 new species: greater kudu, blue wildebeest, Nile crocodile, spotted hyena, blesbok, Cape mountain zebra, common hippopotamus, Cape honey badger, southern lion, South African ostrich, Cape African buffalo and southern yellow-billed duck. The same update let lions, hippos and buffalo charge the player. The patch notes called this a first version of the charging system and said it would be expanded to more animals later.

Nine Rocks says Early Access went through five major content updates before launch.

Notes for PC players​

Some Early Access known issues are specific to PC hardware. They were listed for update 0.2.0 in May, and we haven't confirmed whether they're fixed in 1.0. Still, they're a good starting point if your game crashes:

1. PCs with an NPU: The 0.2.0 notes said some systems could crash on launch if "AI boost" was enabled in Device Manager. The developer's workaround was to disable it while a fix was in progress.
2. Intel 13th/14th-gen Core i7/i9 with an RTX 4090: Some of these systems could crash to desktop when loading Kilimaya. The studio blamed CPU voltage instability and suggested slightly lowering CPU turbo ratios with a tool like ThrottleStop. If you have one of these CPUs, first make sure your motherboard BIOS has Intel's latest microcode, then consider any manual downclocking. That's general industry advice, not the studio's.
3. Performance near water: The same notes warned that frame rates could drop around large bodies of water.

The system requirements from Steam:

Early Access saves: Before launch, Nine Rocks said its goal is to preserve player progress through the transition to Version 1.0, but also that we can't 100% promise it. If your trophy collection matters to you, check your progress after updating before you invest a lot more time.

Editions, loyalty perks and the Season Pass​

These are THQ Nordic's suggested retail prices. Actual store prices and regional sales can differ:

• Standard Edition: €39.99 / $39.99 / £34.99 / AU$54.95 / ¥5,170
• Deluxe Edition (game plus Season One Season Pass): €59.99 / $59.99 / £49.99 / AU$99.95 / ¥7,590

The Season One Season Pass is planned to include eight DLC releases during the game's first year. Nine Rocks says "We're not revealing the individual DLCs just yet." That means Deluxe buyers are paying up front for content that hasn't been announced. Whether that's reasonable depends on how much you trust the studio's track record with the first game.

Loyalty rewards come with conditions:

• Owners of the original Way of the Hunter receive a loyalty discount if they own the game digitally on the same platform.
• Owners of the original Way of the Hunter base game on Steam, PlayStation®5, or Xbox Series X|S will get access to the DLC in Way of the Hunter 2 for free. This refers to the Night Hunting Pack.
• Steam Early Access buyers and console pre-order customers get the Heirloom Pack, which the FAQ says includes a masterfully engraved .243 Win rifle, a matching scope, a modern .270 Win rifle, and a majestic bronze elk statue for your lodge.

Our take​

The launch itself is fairly ordinary. It hit the roughly six-month Early Access window the studio set in March, launched on all platforms on the same day, and came with an honest list of missing features. Player reception is mixed but leaning positive: at the time of writing, Steam showed 73% of the 1,649 user reviews for this game are positive, which Steam rates "Mostly Positive." Some community posts before launch doubted the game was ready, and the missing features list shows those doubts had some basis.

If you're on Windows 11 with a mid-range RTX or Radeon card and you like slow, patient simulation games, this is a reasonable time to start. There's more content than the Early Access build had, the price is known, and the roadmap is public. If you're waiting for non-typical trophies, advanced dog training or weather-affected animal behavior, hold off until the post-launch updates come out.