Wild Hearts, the monster-hunting (but not Monster Hunter) game by Koei Tecmo and published by EA, is available to play as of February 13th, 2023. Now, that might seem confusing, given that the game's official release date is February 16th, 2023.
Well, there's actually a way for players to try out Wild Hearts early if that amazing CG trailer is making the wait until release a bit difficult, but it's a bit convoluted. So, let's go over exactly how players who have bought (or are going to buy) the game as well as players who just want to try it out are supposed to do so.
There's An Early Version Of Wild Hearts?
Basically, the EA App (or Origin), has a way for players to access a 10-hour 'trial' of Wild Hearts that includes everything all the way up to the gates of Minato, the major 'city' the game takes place in.
In this 'trial', there are 3+ Kemono to hunt, 5+ weapons to try out, a whole bunch of Karakuri to mess around with, and plenty of materials and resources to collect. To get there, players just need two things:
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or EA Play
- The EA App or Origin
To put it simply, players get EA Play alongside Game Pass Ultimat e, so they can use this method to access Wild Hearts or just go the direct route and get EA Play (the full game will be available on the 16th on EA Play Pro).
How To Access Wild Hearts Early, Step-By-Step
Now, as for how people are supposed to actually get this early version and play it, here's a step-by-step guide:
- Get a Game Pass Ultimate or EA Play subscription: For reference, Game Pass Ultimate is $15 a month and EA Play is $5. Thankfully, Microsoft always has that '$1 first month' promotion going on for new Game Pass users as well.
- Download the EA App or Origin (either on PC or Console).
- Open the App of choice and click on the Xbox logo on the login screen to use a Microsoft Account to log in. Make sure that the account currently logged in on either the Microsoft Store App or the Microsoft website is the one with the Game Pass Ultimate Subscription.
- After logging in, simply search 'Wild Hearts' in the bar at the top, and click on the game.
- Players should see a dialog box that reads '10-Hour Trial Included with your EA Play Membership".
- Click on 'Pre-Load' to download the game and access the early version.
- For players with EA Play only: Ignore steps 1-3.
And it's as simple as that. Players should now be able to launch and experience 10 hours of Wild Hearts' beautiful world and thrilling combat.
What About Linking An Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Account To An Existing EA App Account?
For the rare situations where someone already has both an account on the EA App/Origin and a Game Pass Ultimate account, but neither is linked to the other, here's how to get them linked:
- Find any EA Game on the Microsoft Store/Xbox App.
- When launching or even installing the game, it should prompt the user to log into their EA Account, thus linking them after they've logged in.
- If there are any issues with this, try logging onto the EA Account on the EA Website, going to Profile, then Account Settings, then Connections.
- Unlink the Xbox Account from the Connections here, restart the computer, and try Steps 1 and 2 again.
Size Of The Early Version & Other General Questions
Finally, for anyone curious about the finer details of installing Wild Hearts, this early version does download the full Wild Hearts game (about 68.4 Gigs on PC), so be ready to wait a bit while it downloads.
Also, players can rest easy, as the progress they make in this Early Version (character, weapons, etc), will also transfer towards the full game once they upgrade to EA Play Pro or buy it in full. And, while the process of getting this early version is a bit convoluted, the game itself has a large amount of accessibility and quality-of-life options to make it as enjoyable as possible for anyone in any situation.
Wild Hearts launches February 16 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.