Monster Hunter Wilds' producer says down-bad fans' love for new Smithy Gemma has "gone beyond our expectations."
Late last month, Monster Hunter Wilds received a more story-focused trailer, teeing up the plot and characters of Capcom's new game. Among those newcomers was Gemma the Smithy, and Monster Hunter fans immediately fell head over heels in love with her, so much so that they brute-forced the 'Dating Sim' tag onto Wild on Steam for all to see.
Speaking to GamesRadar+ at Summer Game Fest 2024, Monster Hunter series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto acknowledges the love for Gemma among fans. "We've definitely seen the love for Gemma, the fan art and things," Tsujimoto says, which is potentially a bit worrying, depending on what he's seen.
"We've heard about it in several interviews," the Monster Hunter series producer continues. "When we designed her, of course, we knew she was gonna be an appealing character, and that was the intention. But it's honestly gone beyond our expectations in terms of how much love has been poured out for. We definitely see you guys," Tsujimoto adds.
I don't know if this will spur on the down-bad Monster Hunter fans out there to create yet more fan art in adoration of Gemma. One plausible fan theory surrounding Gemma is that she's none other than a character from Monster Hunter 4 - Little Miss Forge, specifically, with her blonde hair, blue hair tie, and distinctive outfit. She is the spitting image of the older Monster Hunter character.
Monster Hunter Wilds launches next year in 2025 across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Give our complete Monster Hunter Wilds preview a read for a deeper dive into other aspects of the new game with Tsujimoto.