This isn't going to happen. They already have a Monster Hunter game on their platform and will continue to receive Monster Hunter games for the foreseeable future. They have absolutely no reason to shop around and partner with other third parties to fill a void that doesn't even exist, with games that won't sell anything close to what Monster Hunter sells anyway.
Again, it's nice if you have inside information about Capcom plans, and you are so
sure the company is developing a Monster Hunter game for Switch. Point is,
publicly Capcom has made a statement: the real Monster Hunter will be on home consoles and PC. Further, the
real Monster Hunter will be aimed at Western markets. This is what fans are seeing. In Japan, some of them will keep supporting the franchise; some of them (probably, many of them) will not, because they don't have an interest in purchasing a PS4, or they liked Monster Hunter for local multi-gaming. We are also assuming the game is going to be a top-tier entry in the franchise, which is, indeed, an assumption---for example, if the game will be lacking in contents, I can totally see Japanese fans being upset about it; after all, they were spoiled by previous games. The lack of contents is something I can totally see on Capcom side: the game is built from the ground-up (meaning that they couldn't recycle many contents from previous entries, while creating new ones is very costly) and the game will be sold as a GaaS, meaning that many contents will be saved for future DLC/expansions (G expansions were already criticized in Japan).
The point is, you are so
sure about the existence of a Switch entry that you forget how much Capcom is investing in World, and how difficult is for a company to backtrack if things don't go as planned, especially after public perception has been tainted. Firstly,
the hypothetical Monster Hunter for Switch will be, at most, an early 2019 game---a long enough span of time to piss Japanese fans off (at least those who didn't want to welcome World on PS4). I wrote
at most because, as you stated, Capcom is likely to launch World as a GaaS, which requires all the focus in terms of promotion and marketing. If World is releasing in late January, I can't see Capcom announcing a new Monster Hunter game before TGS... At that point, an early 2019 release for the hypothetical Switch entry seems pretty optimistic. Capcom is really interested in making World succeeding, because they don't have much else in the pipeline, with their top IPs underperforming/bombing, and the sales of legacy titles to cover losses. Hence, it's hard to see Capcom ditching World to announce an handheld version soon after.
Secondly,
Capcom finds itself in a very fragile and risky position. I totally see why they developed World on PS4, Xbox One and PC... At that time, it was likely the most reasonable business decision, given the information they had. But things change over time, and what might have seem reasonable now might be highly risky and uncertain.
I'm pretty sure that Capcom wasn't expecting Generations to succeed to the extent it did, especially in Western markets---after all, it was a low-effort "celebration" game released in 3DS late lifecycle.
I'm also pretty sure Capcom was expecting PS4 to succeed by a wider margin in Japan (perhaps Sony reassured them by saying the platform would receive top-tier support from other third parties as well, such as Square Enix---this is the most common and easy way for platform owners to solve the chicken-and-egg problem of multi-sided platforms). What they think was the most reasonable decision might become a risky bet.
Monster Hunter is a popular franchise over here, but
the extent of its popularity is up to debate. You might say (well, Capcom also said) that 3DS was limiting its appeal. Point is, Monster Hunter was one of the most important and relevant third party games on 3DS; it was a graphical showcase and pushed a lot on 3DS features, especially portability and local multi. Also, Nintendo promoted and marketed those games in North America and Europe. On home consoles, instead, Monster Hunter will be
another Japanese third party game: it won't be a graphical showcase; it will offer a pretty "clunky" battle system and a steep learning curve (for Western standards); also, it will lack a "first party" marketing support (unless Sony will kick in). We had many Japanese games selling very well on PS4 recently---Persona 5, Nier, Ni-Oh. They sold well for what they were, though: new IPs or niche jRPG.
Monster Hunter: World is Capcom main 2018 product as of now, and I doubt Capcom (and investors, especially) would be happy with 1.5-2m sales in Western markets.
1.5-2m in Western sales would be an improvement over 3DS entries, true. Is the improvement Capcom was expecting, though? We don't know Capcom expectations, but they moved the franchise to home consoles
specifically to reach a wider audience.
Going from 1m to 1.5-2m in Western markets, and then losing at least 2m in the domestic market seems a terrible business decision---also accounting for increasing development costs (you said the game has been under development for 4 years?). Then, someone can say that it is the first step in the right direction, meaning that
if World will sell 1.5-2m then next entries can do even better.
Given all what you said and what we discussed, this conclusion seems a bit naif. First,
this kind of business decisions (when you lose in the short term to gain later on) makes sense when the company is in good shape, and has a workable back-up plan. I can't think of software houses that did the same thing as Capcom---at least, Square Enix developed Dragon Quest XI on 3DS as well, and spread the game on multiple platforms. Even Capcom itself was more reasonable in moving the franchise on 3DS, with a preparation title, 3G, and, perhaps, the possibility to develop something (a multi MH4?) on PS Vita as well (which didn't materialize eventually). Second,
if World will be a GaaS, its lifecycle will be pretty long; how can Capcom start seeing the increased popularity in the franchise? They can release a World G---do you really thing Western audience will be there to buy World G as much as they bought World? It might happen, but it's a pretty uncertain forecast. Or perhaps is Capcom betting on the growth from World to World 2? When is World 2 releasing when, according to you, Capcom has a Switch Monster Hunter in the pipeline? 2020 might be a good year? Wouldn't it be too late? In sum, the narrative that World can sell "just" 1.5-2m in Western markets to simply raise the franchise awareness and rack up on subsequent entries is pretty naif in my opinion.
The truth is, Monster Hunter: World must be a breakout hit, and sell at least as well as 3DS entries worldwide such that investors are pleased, Capcom stategy finally looks credible and reasonable, and the franchise can coexist on both home and handheld space.
