Multiple new titles have released today, but perhaps the most prolific is Monster Hunter Rise, the Nintendo Switch exclusive entry in Capcom's popular franchise. Judging by Monster Hunter Rise's reviews, the game has earned near universal praise despite it lacking the same amount of content as its predecessor Monster Hunter World. And it's still early days for the game as Capcom has now confirmed some of the post-launch content players can look forward to in the coming months.
Announced through Monster Hunter Rise's launch trailer, the first major update (not counting the day one patch) isn't too far off, scheduled for the end of April. It's described as a free title update, so it's not paid DLC, and its main additions will be even more monsters to hunt. The trailer already shows one of them: Apex Rathalos.
Rathalos is perhaps the franchise's most iconic monster, appearing in every game in the series (including spin-offs like the Monster Hunter Stories games) and it even made a cameo appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Naturally, it's already present in Monster Hunter Rise, but this Apex Rathalos appears to be a wholly new variant, one that is brand new to the game. It's too early to tell how it will differentiate from the regular Rathalos but, appearance-wise, it looks to have glowing red veins. Rathalos' can already breathe fire, but perhaps the Apex version will dial that aspect up.
It won't be the only one, either. The trailer also confirms the addition of Chameleos, an Elder Dragon first introduced in 2006's Monster Hunter 2. It's made multiple appearances throughout the series, but it was absent from Monster Hunter World so there are a lot of players who have yet to encounter it themselves. The trailer promises several more, currently unnamed monsters too, as well as an unlocked HR cap and other related features.
A third update is planned as well and, aside from even more monsters, will add an entirely new ending too. It doesn't have a confirmed date yet, though, but it might be safe to assume that it will arrive before the end of this year.
It's not clear how long Capcom intends to keep supporting Monster Hunter Rise but it'll likely be at least for a couple of years. Monster Hunter World released in 2018 and continued to receive updates well into 2020, including an entire expansion. Plus, Rise will be releasing on PC next year, meaning PC owners will need time to catch up.
Monster Hunter Rise is currently available on Nintendo Switch with a PC version coming in 2022.