Capcom's highly anticipated new title, "Monster Hunter Wilds," made a massive splash on its launch day, hitting nearly 1 million concurrent players on Steam and showcasing the series' incredible draw.
The first two days saw Japan's X (formerly Twitter) flooded with players eager to dive into the hunt, sparking a full-blown hunting frenzy. One particular shop even posted a notice stating they couldn't open because everyone had gone off to become hunters, grabbing netizens' attention.
This particular osteopathic clinic in Shinjuku put up a temporary notice today: every single staff member, including the boss, had ditched work to play "Monster Hunter Wilds." With no one left to run the shop, they had no choice but to close for the day.
Of course, with major game releases like this, it's pretty common now to see shops declare a spontaneous holiday or let employees take time off to play at home – a uniquely Japanese phenomenon, LOL.
The boss even announced that due to the temporary closure, they decided to distribute a 10,000 JPY "closure subsidy" to all staff members. Since hunting doesn't exactly pay the bills, this bonus is meant to cover living expenses during their time off, ensuring everyone can focus on their hunts without worrying about finances! Oh, and they also picked up some first-aid bandages for the team, as requested! Talk about a fun workplace, haha!
The boss's thoughtful gesture earned widespread praise from netizens. In fact, this osteopathic clinic has a history of closing down for major game releases; they did the same for "Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake," when everyone apparently went off to become heroes.
So, fellow gamers, have you geared up and hit the hunting grounds yet? While launch day was a holiday, maybe it's time to request some PTO next week and switch careers for a bit, LOL!