Way of the Hunter 2 vs Call of the Wild: maps and animals, procedural trophies, real brand gear, engine and performance, co-op size.
Way of the Hunter 2 vs Call of the Wild Compared
Short version: Way of the Hunter 2 is a $39.99 Unreal Engine 5.7 hunting sim with three maps, 28 species at launch and a two-player co-op cap. theHunter: Call of the Wild is free to play, nine years old, with roughly 131 species across about 19 reserves and multiplayer for up to eight. This page compares mechanics, not vibes.
A large share of results for "way of the hunter vs call of the wild" cover the first Way of the Hunter, which hit Steam on August 16, 2022. Everything below is Way of the Hunter 2, released September 29, 2026. The first game is one continent, preset trophy variants, and currently $7.49 on sale. Do not let the two get mixed up when you read other guides.
Maps: three included against two included
The cleanest structural difference is who owns what on day one. WoTH2 ships every current map in the base game; CoTW ships two reserves and sells the rest.
| Way of the Hunter 2 | Call of the Wild | |
|---|---|---|
| Maps in the base game | 3 | 2, Layton Lake District and Hirschfelden |
| Extra maps | 2 more planned within the first post-launch year | About 17 more, sold as paid DLC (community count) |
| Published map sizes | New Laurentia 100 km2, Kilimaya Reserve 100 km2, Hearth & Hunt Headquarters 16 km2 | No official sizes published |
| Access to the paid maps | Included in the purchase | One party member owning a reserve unlocks it for the whole group |
Those square kilometre figures come from the developer FAQ and appear nowhere on Steam. The Call of the Wild side comes from its store description, which names Layton Lake and Hirschfelden and states one party member owning a reserve unlocks it for the group.
Official source: theHunter: Call of the Wild on Steam
Full breakdowns, including the North America and Africa guides, are in Maps and Reserves.
Animals: 28 launch species against roughly 131
| Way of the Hunter 2 | Call of the Wild | |
|---|---|---|
| Species at v1.0 | 28 across the two hunting maps | 131, community wiki count as of 2026-10-03 |
| Split | 15 in New Laurentia, 13 in Kilimaya Reserve | Spread across all reserves, a handful per reserve |
| Still unrevealed | 2 species kept under wraps | 0 |
CoTW wins on volume and loses on density. A WoTH2 map holds 15 species you can complete; a CoTW reserve holds a handful. Mallard, moose, white-tailed deer and wild boar appear in both.
The 131 figure comes from the community-run theHunter: Call of the Wild wiki, not Avalanche; Steam publishes no species total. Treat it as a floor that grows with every reserve. The same wiki lists 19 reserves including DLC.
Ecosystem, herds and habitat: promises on both sides
| Way of the Hunter 2 | Call of the Wild | |
|---|---|---|
| Herd management | Partly reworked, still expanding on player feedback | Not described on the Steam store page |
| Environment affecting animal senses | Planned: weather and terrain will change how well animals see and hear you | Dynamic weather, day/night cycles and wind-borne scents documented; senses are not |
| Habitat restoration or invasive-species removal at v1.0 | No mechanic described in the developer FAQ | No mechanic described on the Steam store page |
| Population persistence | Single-player and multiplayer keep separate worlds and animal populations | Shared through the persistent reserve model |
Treat that third row as the honest headline. WoTH2 promises a "dynamic environmental change ... arriving very soon" without naming it, and the FAQ never mentions repairing habitat, clearing pollution or invasive species. Check the patch notes before trusting a guide that says otherwise.
CoTW documents weather, scent and day/night cycles as shipped features, so the contrast is promise versus documentation. Neither Steam page claims a habitat-restoration loop at v1.0.
Trophies: procedural generation against rating classes
| Way of the Hunter 2 | Call of the Wild | |
|---|---|---|
| How variation works | Trophies procedurally generated at v1.0, where game 1 used preset variants | Trophy Rating tiers scored per animal |
| Named rare tiers | Non-typical mule deer being added; superior and mythical in development | None, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, plus Great One |
| Current state | The whole rating system is being reworked | Mature, refined in patch 8.4 with a Trophy Lodge UI overhaul |
This is the gap that is hardest to close. CoTW spent nine years layering fur rarity and rating classes on a fixed species list. WoTH2 generates variation instead of hand-authoring it, but the rating layer above it is unfinished. More in Trophies and Ratings.
Gear: 13 named partners against DLC weapon packs
| Way of the Hunter 2 | Call of the Wild | |
|---|---|---|
| Named real-world brands | 13 at launch | No official count published |
| Signature gear | Suppressors change gameplay directly, plus thermal clip-on and monocular night vision | Weapon packs, hunting equipment and hunting dogs, sold as DLC |
| How gear reaches you | Included in the base game | 61 DLC entries listed on Steam, plus in-app purchases |
The WoTH2 brand list is Bergara, Bushnell, Christensen Arms, CVA, DDoptics, Integrix, Leupold, Merkel, MDT, Primos, Stone Glacier, Strasser and ZEISS, announced as "authentic gear from more than ten real-world partners". WoTH2 plans no microtransactions, so its ammo economy runs through the Ammo Types and Suppressors rules.
Engine, upscaling and PC requirements
| Way of the Hunter 2 | Call of the Wild | |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5.7 with Nanite and Lumen | Apex, the Avalanche Open World Engine |
| Upscaling | DLSS 4.5, FSR 4, frame generation, ultrawide | Not stated on the Steam page |
| Minimum CPU | Ryzen 5 3600X or Core i5-9600K | Core i3-4170 |
| Minimum GPU | GeForce RTX 2060 or Radeon RX 5600 XT | GTX 660 or Radeon HD 7870, 1 GB VRAM |
| Minimum RAM | 16 GB | 4 GB |
| Disk space | 38 GB on the Steam page | 140 GB |
The minimum-spec gap is the widest on this page, and disk space runs the other way: CoTW still lists Windows 7 as minimum nine years after release. The Apex engine attribution comes from Avalanche's own launch announcement, not the store page. See System Requirements.
Two developer sources back the WoTH2 half and they disagree: the FAQ covers map sizes, species split, the two-player cap and cross-play; the 38 GB disk figure comes from the store page.
Official source: Way of the Hunter 2 developer FAQ, Nine Rocks Games
Co-op size: two players against eight
| Way of the Hunter 2 | Call of the Wild | |
|---|---|---|
| Players per session at v1.0 | 2 | Up to 8 |
| PC to console cross-play | Not in version 1.0 | Community reports conflict; Steam makes no claim |
| World persistence | Single-player and multiplayer worlds stay separate | Party-wide access to any owned reserve |
Four- and eight-player sessions are not a WoTH2 feature at all; the official answer is "2 players". If that is your use case, read Multiplayer How to Play and Crossplay before you buy.
Price and ownership model
| Way of the Hunter 2 | Call of the Wild | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | $39.99 Standard, $59.99 Deluxe | Free to play |
| DLC | 4 items, $1.99 to $34.99 | 61 entries |
| Traditional Chinese | Supported | Not supported |
| Full voice audio | 6 languages: English, French, German, Portuguese-Brazil, Simplified Chinese, Spanish-Latin America | English only |
Steam reports Call of the Wild as free to play with is_free: true as of 2026-10-03. WoTH2 is a one-time purchase with no microtransactions planned, covered in Price and Editions.
FAQ
Is Way of the Hunter 2 better than Call of the Wild? Neither is a strict upgrade. WoTH2 has the newer engine, denser maps and procedural trophies, but 28 species and a two-player cap. CoTW has nine years of content, a 131-species roster, eight-player co-op and a mature trophy economy. Pick on roster size and co-op count first.
Is Way of the Hunter 2 a sequel to Call of the Wild? No. Different studios, no shared world, gear or progression. It is the sequel to Way of the Hunter.
Does Call of the Wild have cross-play? Community sources contradict each other and Steam makes no claim, so we will not assert one.
Related
More Way of the Hunter 2 Guides
Way of the Hunter 2 weapons guide for ammo change: which rifle and caliber per species, free default ammo vs paid alternates, real brand partners.
Official answer on Way of the Hunter 2 crossplay: not in version 1.0. PC, PS5 and Xbox sessions are fully separate. What the dev says.
Way of the Hunter 2 tips that change results: reading tracks, wind, callers, waiting out weather, and using the dog to find wounded game.
Kilimaya Reserve in Way of the Hunter 2: the 100 km2 Africa map, its 13 species, which predators can charge you, and how to hunt hippo and buffalo safely.
Way of the Hunter 2 known issues after launch: the demo config fix for broken resolution settings, plus how to report a bug.
All 3 Way of the Hunter 2 maps with exact sizes: New Laurentia and Kilimaya at 100 km2 each, Hearth & Hunt at 16 km2. What each holds.
How to play co-op in Way of the Hunter 2: how to invite a friend, open a lobby, join a session, and the 2-player limit that trips people up at launch.
New Laurentia in Way of the Hunter 2: the 100 km2 North America map, its 15 species, elk and moose behaviour, need zones, tracks and hunting pressure.