Nintendo's fall 2021 Nintendo Direct presentation in September was packed full of major headlines for many of the gaming juggernaut's most popular franchises. The broadcast was highlighted by segments like Bayonetta 3's fantastic gameplay trailer and major reveals like the upcoming Kirby and the Forgotten Land and the cast of the Illumination Super Mario Bros. movie. Monster Hunter fans also got something to celebrate with Monster Hunter Rise confirmed to be receiving its first major expansion in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak.
Monster Hunter Rise, the first main-series title to release on Switch, was a phenomenal success for Capcom following its release in March of this year. The game had already surpassed 7.5 million units sold in just over six months while still being a Switch exclusive. The announcement of the Sunbreak expansion was met with plenty of excitement from fans, with Sunbreak being compared to Monster Hunter World's massive Iceborne expansion in scale. With Sunbreak still several months out, Capcom recently teased when fans will get their next update on the new content.
A post from the official Monster Hunter Twitter account Monday morning teased fans with the promise of new information on the highly-anticipated Sunbreak expansion. Without giving many details on what the news would pertain to, the post announced that more info on Sunbreak would be coming early next year, with the ambiguous date of Spring 2022 given for the next update.
The Japanese Monster Hunter Twitter also revealed there would be new Silkbind attacks coming in Sunbreak, though no video was shown of the upcoming skills. The new Silkbind attacks are just a few of a huge library of content already revealed to be coming in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak. The new "Master Rank" quests will add new monsters and more powerful versions of iconic monsters already in Rise, like the game's cover monster, Magnamalo. Sunbreak will also feature a new storyline and new areas for players to explore and hunt, as well as plenty of new gameplay elements Capcom has teased but has yet to reveal to its fans.
2021 has been a banner year for the Monster Hunter franchise, with both Rise and Monster Hunter Stories 2 releasing through the year to critical and commercial success. Rise received nominations for Best Role-Playing Game and Best Multiplayer Game at the 2021 Game Awards, though it would ultimately lose to Tales of Arise and It Takes Two, respectively. While Rise may not have taken home any awards, the game's popularity among franchise fans should bode well for both the PC version releasing early next year and the eventual success of Sunbreak.
Monster Hunter Rise is available now for Nintendo Switch, with a PC version scheduled to release on January 12, 2022. The Sunbreak expansion is currently in development, planned for Summer 2022.