Real-life Monster Hunter: Capcom is offering £50,000 for anyone who can find evidence of Nessie or Bigfoot

Vaughn Highfield January 29, 2018

Monster Hunters of the world, heed this call.

Real-life Monster Hunter: Capcom is offering £50,000 for anyone who can find evidence of Nessie or Bigfoot

Capcom has announced a real-life monster hunt is underway to celebrate the launch of Monster Hunter World.

In what can only be described as one of the most unusual PR stunts out there – and I punched a doll’s house with a metal space fist in the name of a marketing stunt – Capcom is offering up a reward of £50,000 to anyone who can find evidence to prove the existence of the world’s most notorious mythical beasts. Capcom has brought in the help of renowned Cryptozoologist Jon Downes to analyse the evidence and dole out the prize money to the best hunter.

Downes worked with Capcom to select the ten beasts hunters need to uncover and, as the director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology, is more than qualified to analyse the resulting evidence.

“There are stories of monsters from around the world, and while some may be flights of fancy, not every one of these monsters can be made up,” Downes explained in the press release. “It is one of life’s great mysteries and similar to Monster Hunter: World, I’ve spent the majority of my life travelling across the globe to hunt for evidence of these creatures. Although I have had some successes, I have yet to find that elusive proof and it is time for me to offer my help as I throw down the gauntlet to the next generation.”

The hunt starts from today and runs for six months until 30 June. Aspiring hunters need to provide evidence of one of ten mythical beasts from around the world if they want to bag the £50,000 prize.

So, if you can find evidence of Bigfoot (or Sasquatch as it’s otherwise known), the Loch Ness Monster, Mongolian Death Worm, Mermaid, Earth Hound, Yeti/Almasty, Chupacabras, The flying snake of Namibia, Yowie or the Cornish Owlman, you’re quids in.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens come 30 June, will Capcom’s campaign lead to one of the biggest scientific discoveries in history? We’ll just have to wait and see (but our early hunch is that it’s unlikely.)

To be in with a chance of winning, all evidence must be submitted to Capcom’s hunt email and the bounty can be split between hunters if more than one winner is found.

If you’re curious about starting a digital monster hunt, Monster Hunter World launched on Xbox One and PS4 on 26 January, and it’s PC build is set to drop later this year. For those about to start out on their Monster Hunter World journey, we’ve put together a list of the most essential tips every beginner needs to know.