Way of the Hunter 2 Launches Today: Price, Editions and What's New in 1.0
Way of the Hunter 2 leaves Early Access today on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, bringing co-op multiplayer, a trophy lodge and two hunting regions to Nine Rocks Games' open-world sequel.
An elevated hunting blind overlooks New Laurentia's open grassland at sunrise in Way of the Hunter 2. Image: Nine Rocks Games.
Way of the Hunter 2 leaves Steam Early Access today, September 29, and lands on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S for the first time. Nine Rocks Games spent six months building the open-world hunting sim in public, and the 1.0 release folds in a new trophy headquarters, online co-op and a second full-size hunting region alongside the North American map players have had since March.
Leaving Early Access after six months
The PC build entered Early Access on Steam on March 26, 2026, with a single North American region called New Laurentia. THQ Nordic and developer Nine Rocks Games rolled features out in stages from there: ecosystem management and thermal optics arrived in April, and a May update added a second hunting ground along with a wave of new wildlife. Today's patch is the first build available on console, and it is also the point where the PC listing moves off its Early Access discount to the full $34.99 price on Steam.
Two regions, one open world
New Laurentia covers pine forest, river valley and alpine ridge terrain built around North American species like moose, elk, bison and mountain goats. Kilimaya Reserve, the African region added partway through Early Access, spans roughly 100 square kilometers built on contrast: highlands and open grassland give way to wetlands, shrubland and sun-scorched barren ground, each hosting hippos, buffalo, lions and Nile crocodiles alongside smaller game. Nine Rocks Games has kept revising the animal roster since Kilimaya launched, including a pass that gave male and female animals anatomically distinct models instead of reusing one skeleton for both sexes.
Both regions run on the ecosystem-management system Nine Rocks Games added back in April, alongside suppressors and thermal optics, well before Kilimaya itself arrived. It is the same foundation the 1.0 release builds on rather than a launch-day addition, which is part of why the studio treats today more as a graduation than a fresh start: most of the systems shipping now have already had months of Early Access feedback behind them.
What the 1.0 patch adds
- Hearth & Hunt Headquarters, an expandable lodge that displays trophies from both regions in one place
- Online co-op hunting for up to four players, alongside split-screen support
- A new ammunition-switching system for changing loads without backing out to a menu
- Gear from real optics and rifle makers, including Zeiss, Bushnell, Christensen Arms and Leupold
The studio has been explicit that 1.0 is a milestone, not a finish line. Nine Rocks Games' own roadmap post lists non-typical trophies, expanded hunting dog training and further animal species as work already underway for post-launch updates. The co-op mode in particular is still early: it only reached the game's experimental branch shortly before today's launch, so treat it as a newer, less-tested layer on top of a single-player campaign that has had six months of Early Access patches behind it.
The next evolution of hunting simulations is about to begin. Pre-order Way of the Hunter 2 today and receive the Heirloom Pack DLC, an exclusive bonus celebrating a hunter's legacy. Way of the Hunter 2 is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on September 29, 2026.
— Nine Rocks Games (@ninerocksgames) Nine Rocks Games on X
Editions, price and the loyalty discount
On PlayStation and Xbox, Way of the Hunter 2 ships in a $39.99 Standard Edition and a $59.99 Deluxe Edition. The Deluxe Edition bundles the base game with a Season One pass covering eight DLC drops planned across the game's first year, and pre-ordering it grants 24 hours of early access plus the Heirloom Pack, a cosmetic set of ornate rifles, a decorative scope and a lodge fountain. The PC version on Steam carries the same Heirloom Pack pre-order bonus at its $34.99 base price.
Where the game goes from here
Beyond that first year of paid DLC, Nine Rocks Games has also promised ongoing free updates through the rest of 2026. The original Way of the Hunter launched day-one on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S back in August 2022, so the sequel's route through six months of PC-only Early Access is the newer approach for this studio, not the norm. It means console players are getting a game with two finished regions and a year of planned support already mapped out, rather than the single-map, figure-it-out-as-we-go launch the original had. Whether that head start shows in day-one stability is the question the next few weeks of reviews will answer.