Cheese naan sales in Japan skyrocket after being featured in new ‘Monster Hunter Wilds’ video game

Cheese naan sales soar in Japan thanks to ‘Monster Hunter Wilds’

Just days after the highly anticipated release of ‘Monster Hunter Wilds’, the Japanese food industry is experiencing a spike in cheese naan sales — all thanks to a cheesy cameo in the game.

Source: @shimosuke_ on X

Salam Namaste, a Nepalese restaurant in Tokyo, is one of the many beneficiaries, enjoying a dramatic sales boost.

The eatery’s X post celebrating the phenomenon has gone viral, amassing nearly 10,000 shares from hungry Japanese netizens.

“Thank you, Monster Hunter! Cheese naan is selling out,” it posted on 2 March.

8 million copies of ‘Monster Hunter Wilds’ sold in 3 days

‘Monster Hunter Wilds’ has been one of the most highly anticipated video game releases of 2025, with Capcom reporting a staggering 8 million copies sold in just three days.

The game’s popularity has been so overwhelming in Japan that even rival game developer Palworld gave its employees a day off to dive into the game.

Source: Monster Hunter Wiki

While the launch was a massive success for Capcom, the food industry found an unexpected winner: cheese naan.

In ‘Monster Hunter Wilds’, players enjoy a virtual meal before embarking on hunts, with particular attention to detail given to the cooking scenes.

One standout moment features a dish strikingly similar to cheese naan, complete with a mouth-watering cheese pull.

Source: @shimosuke_ on X

This has prompted gamers to rush to local restaurants in search of their own cheesy indulgence.

Developers add extra detail to food for world-building

According to Automaton, the developers of ‘Monster Hunter’ wanted the food in their games to be more than just eye candy for players — they aimed to highlight the importance of food within the game’s world.

In fact, the cheese naan feast scene was one of the first elements the developers worked on.

Although it paid off beautifully, it wasn’t without its challenges.

“It took many, many attempts to express aspects like the tearing of the naan bread and the melting of the cheese,” said art director Kaname Fujioka. “I really focused on this because I wanted to challenge myself to see how delicious I could make simple food look.”

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Featured image adapted from @salamnamaste01 on X and WoW Quests on YouTube.