2018 is nearing its end and Monster Hunter World, Capcom's modern take on its wildly successful action RPG franchise, continues to show up in more and more Game of the Year award lists. Capcom has created something special with Monster Hunter World, but a new announcement makes clear that there's plenty more to come. Monday morning, Capcom announced that Monster Hunter World would be receiving its first major premium expansion, titled Iceborne, in autumn 2019.

Few specific details were revealed regarding the Monster Hunter World Iceborne expansion. In terms of general promises, however, Capcom has said that Iceborne will feature new quest ranks, monsters, and equipment. And the new expansion will also feature an entirely new landmass to explore, too. Iceborne will also feature its own original story which will pick up from where the events of Monster Hunter World left off. It's a true expansion in every sense of the word.

One bit of specific information did get revealed at the end of the Iceborne trailer, however. As the screen goes black, red eyes flash on-screen followed by a swipe of claws. The much-requested Nargacuga wyvern is all but official for the expansion. Always demanding more, the Monster Hunter community is already speculating that the ice map could also bring about other monsters including Barioth and Tigrex as well. And there's likely plenty more where that came from in Iceborne.

Capcom revealed Iceborne as part of a Special Developer Update, which contained a pre-recorded video streamed to an online audience. Monster Hunter producer Ryozo Tsujimoto had several Monster Hunter World announcements ready to reveal, including "The Fury of El Dorado" Arch-tempered Kulve Taroth console event, the Appreciation Fest for the one-year anniversary, a Witcher 3 crossover event, and the introduction of Arch-tempered Nergigante–the last title update for the base Monster Hunter World game.

The Special Developer Update closed out with the reveal of Iceborne, a major expansion for Monster Hunter World said to be as large as G and Ultimate iterations of past Monster Hunter games. Rather than forcing players to repurchase the full game all over again like with Ultimate versions, Iceborne will be available for current players as downloadable content for the original game. Pricing details and further information regarding Iceborne will be revealed in spring 2019, as the currently planned title updates for Monster Hunter World are finished.

Monster Hunter World is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The Iceborne expansion will release in autumn 2019 on PS4 and Xbox One, with a PC release to follow.