Way of the Hunter

Open-world hunting simulation with realistic ballistics and animal behavior

Nine Rocks Games · Published by THQ Nordic · Released Aug 16, 2022

Reviews: Very Positive; 80% of 11K
Recent reviews: Very Positive; 81% of 58 in 30 days
Playing now: 126; right now
Steam Deck: Playable
Last update: 4 months ago; Apr 23, 2026

What is Way of the Hunter?

A first-person hunting simulation set in open-world regions of the Pacific Northwest and Transylvania. You travel on foot or by car, track animals, take shots using realistic ballistics, review hits, and sell meat to fund gear and hunting passes. Story missions follow a family hunting business, while free-roam hunting and online co-op provide less structured options.

For you if...

+you prefer slow, patient tracking over arcade shooting
+you want realistic ballistics and detailed animal behavior
+you like alternating story missions with open-world roaming

Not for you if...

−you expect frequent action or easy animal encounters
−you dislike waiting, stalking, and careful shot placement

What players say

80% of 11,308 reviews are positive · 81% of 58 in the last 30 days

Players most often praise the patient hunting, large environments, animal behavior, ballistics, and shot replay. Common complaints focus on blurry upscaled visuals and anti-aliasing, unresolved bugs, and paid DLC; recent players also say support has shifted away from fixing the game.

Screenshots and trailer

Way of the Hunter system requirements

As published by the developer.

Minimum

OS: 64bit OS - Windows 10
Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 3100 / Intel Core i3-8100
Graphics: GeForce GTX 960 / Radeon R9 380
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Storage: 19 GB available space
DirectX: Version 11

PC version details

DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.

DRM: None declared on Steam
Controller: Full controller support
Platforms: Windows
Achievements: 42
Steam features: Cloud saves, Family Sharing, Trading cards

Steam Deck: Playable

Some in-game text is small and may be hard to read
Default configuration is not performant
All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
Shows Steam Deck controller icons
External controllers are not supported for the primary player

Multiplayer and co-op

Languages

Full audio: English. Text only: French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Arabic, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Polish, Russian, Czech, Turkish, Japanese, Hindi, Indonesian, Slovak.