Monster Hunter Rise's first expansion is arriving this summer

Malzeno in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak
(Image credit: Capcom)

Capcom has finally unveiled full details for Sunbreak, the upcoming "massive expansion" for Monster Hunter Rise.

A livestream presentation dug into all the juicy details for new monsters, a new hub to hang your hat and new story to delve into. Sunbreak will take place off the back of the Rampage questline from the base game, so you'll need to have completed the 7-star hub quest Serpent Goddess of Thunder first. 

There'll be a bundle of new beasties to beat down, like the return of Astalos and a new variation of the terrifying flying monkey Bishaten called Blood Orange Bishaten. There's also the Three Lords, an almighty trio of legendary monsters. There's the werewolf-like Lunagaron, Dracula inspired Mlzeno and Garangolm who appears to be inspired by golems. They look equally formidable and a whole lotta fun to take down.

New hub Elgado Outpost comes complete with new NPCs, quest-givers and all the usual gubbins to go out and do your monster-hunting business. Capcom called it a "bustling port town with lots of trade" with a lovely oceanic backdrop. Quests from here will send hunters out into the Citadel, which will feature a variety of biomes "from lush forests to icy mountains." It's got some nice Nier Automata style post-apocalyptic vibes going on in parts, with others more closely resembling Monster Hunter World's Iceborne expansion.

The DLC will cost $39.99/£32.99 and is set to release on June 30, along with a 13 GB patch that you'll need to download regardless of whether or not you pick up Sunbreak. While Monster Hunter Rise has been kicking around on the Switch for a year now, PC players have only had a few months to explore Kamura Village and its surrounding terrain. Rich gave the game a 90 in our Monster Hunter Rise review, saying the game "is arguably the greatest entry in Capcom's flagship series, and a game that simply never stops giving."

Mollie Taylor
Features Producer

Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she's not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.