At Tokyo Game Show 2026, CAPCOM detailed the Boost Bracer and confirmed that weapon adjustments and new actions are coming to the base game. A fifteenth weapon type is not planned.
Monster Hunter Wilds passed 10 million sales in its first month, then lost momentum as players ran into shortcomings. CAPCOM's sales materials put the game at 10.10 million units by March 31, 2025, after its February launch. At Tokyo Game Show 2026, the company outlined how Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance will build on the base game. Weapon adjustments and new actions are planned for a free update; the expansion's major additions require a purchase.
Series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto said the team wants Ascendance to feel like an entirely new game. Its content, he said, will be on the scale players expect from a major series expansion such as Iceborne or Sunbreak.
New combat tools, same weapon roster
CAPCOM says it considers adding a weapon type for every game, but has not found an option for Ascendance that feels distinct from the existing 14. Art director and executive director Kaname Fujioka and director Takuro Hiraoka said a new weapon would need a sufficiently different play style to justify the development effort and earn a place in players' loadouts. The team opted to build on the existing roster instead.
Ascendance adds the Boost Bracer, a combat system usable with any weapon. CAPCOM says it can create openings during a fight and give hunters more actions. Attacks build energy during a hunt, which players can spend to enter a Boost state. Each weapon has fixed moves in that state: it adds actions and changes some existing moves, rather than letting players choose abilities.
The system is meant to fit into ordinary combat, not sit unused until a monster stumbles. Fujioka said the goal was to give players new ways to create openings. During a hands-on session, the interview's writer used the Light Bowgun ability to exploit an opening and to create one. That account offers a glimpse of the intended use, but cannot show how the system will feel across all 14 weapons.
CAPCOM's weapon-design question has a different angle in NGB's WoW Souls report, which covered an unofficial project adapting Dark Souls Remastered combat to a WoW client. Ascendance takes the official route, adding a shared combat system while keeping the established roster intact.
Free updates for Wilds
When Ascendance launches, CAPCOM will also update Wilds. Weapon adjustments and new actions, including a new Sword and Shield technique, are planned for players who do not buy the expansion. The update will also add the previously shown option to change weapons without riding a Seikret. A revamped UI is planned as well. These base-game changes are separate from the Boost Bracer, which is part of the paid expansion.
The Boost Bracer and Master Rank quests are expansion content. New players can use the Bracer in the base-game portion of Wilds if they buy both Wilds and Ascendance. The system therefore requires the expansion even when players use it before reaching the new content.
Ascendance takes place several years after Wilds. Its story begins when the Elder Dragon Lao-Shan Lung appears in the Forbidden Lands and overwhelms the Expedition Team. The plot then moves ahead to a rematch at Madoi Stronghold. The expansion adds the Skybound Eyrie, a locale of sky islands and floating ruins, along with the new Elder Dragon Gundoraja, known as the Black Sky's Wrath. CAPCOM has also revealed the returning monsters Kushala Daora and Teostra.
Switch 2 and release plans
Bringing Wilds to Nintendo Switch 2 required CAPCOM to review the game's internal processing and engine. Producer Genki Sunano described the work as tuning the game for the hardware while deciding which elements could be reduced and which needed protection. CAPCOM says the aim is to preserve the Wilds experience, but the interview included no performance measurements or technical specifications.
The Switch 2 edition will be a Game-Key Card. The base game is scheduled to arrive on the system on December 4, 2026. Ascendance is planned for 2027.
CAPCOM has also announced the expansion for PC. It is coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and will arrive on Nintendo Switch 2 after the base game's debut there. A free prologue demo for Switch 2 is scheduled for October 19 in the Pacific time zone and October 20 in the UK. It will support local multiplayer and save-data transfer to the full game.
Takuro Hiraoka, who took over as director from Yuya Tokuda, described the expansion as a natural evolution of Wilds, with improvements to the base game and an extended story and action. CAPCOM has confirmed Master Rank and the Boost Bracer, but has not detailed every weapon adjustment or new action. The expansion is due at some point in 2027, with no more specific release date announced.
