That just says to me that no near future Monster Hunter game is going to be worth playing, since that focus just means that gameplay and story are going to be sacrificed in favor of graphics and gimmicks.

Monster Hunter games have a story?

Yes. Nature good! Science good! Go kill a one-of-kind dragon so we can learn why it’s doing nature stuff.

Also some of these animals are clearly intelligent. Wear their corpses to warn the others!

Hold up… Nature good so… Exterminate it? 🤔

I think in-universe you are trying to keep the environment in balance but it’s so hard to make a good story for a game exclusively about killing and wearing monsters that it never works out.

Iceborne ends with the main characters thanking Nergigante only for that particular Nergigante to be the target of a future hunt regardless.