All bows are considered ethical for all species while rifles, guns and shotguns of different calibre must be selected according to the animal the player will hunt. To hunt certain species, theHunter requires the player to utilise the correct weapon for each hunt. Animal tracks can be found and identified with the "Huntermate", an in-game GPS-like device that identifies tracks, scat, rooting, bedding, blood trails, and animal calls and grunts. The core gameplay revolves around tracking and harvesting (killing) animals with the weapons provided, although a digital camera is also provided for those who do not wish to shoot with a gun or a bow. Completing the first 3 whitetail deer missions unlocks further missions from other animals in the game. Once a character is created and the tutorial completed, the player can hunt freely, activate missions and earn one of two types of in-game currency called gm$. Creating a character requires selecting an avatar from a pool of unique faces, and adding a unique name. To play the player must first create a character on the game’s website, which includes social networking tools and messaging capabilities to allow players to connect and share in-game experiences. The game is fully playable for no charge. It features five huntable animal types whitetail deer, european rabbit, cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hare and pheasant. The initial setting is on an open world island based on various locations, including the islands and surroundings of Washington state in the United States, Australian Outback, French Alps and more.
TheHunter games play as first-person hunting games that recreate hunting wild animals in a manner as realistic as possible. The most recent entry in the series, theHunter: Call of the Wild, was developed by Expansive Worlds and published by Avalanche Studios in February 2017. A standalone expansion, theHunter: Primal, was developed and published by Expansive Worlds and Avalanche Studios, and released in March 2015. Subsequently, Avalanche Studios bought the rights to the franchise and opened Expansive Worlds as a subsidiary that would exclusively focus on theHunter development. The first game in the series, known as theHunter, was developed and published by Emote Games, in association with Avalanche Studios, and released in April 2009.
TheHunter is a series of simulation video games developed by Expansive Worlds and published by its parent company, Avalanche Studios.