The Monster Hunter World Spring Update Livestream led us into the weekend and fans who were hoping for some fresh details concerning the game’s upcoming Iceborne update were not disappointed. The reveal included a look at the new map, peeks at some new monsters and even details about additional tweaks being made to the game, including new moves and a whole new rank for dedicated players to tackle.
Before Capcom could even hit the internet with its own Monster Hunter stream, a brand new look at the Iceborne expansion was revealed during this past week’s State of Play video presentation out of the PlayStation camp. In case you missed it, here’s another look.
About an hour later, Capcom rolled out their big livestream, including all sorts of additional details and input from the game’s lead team. You can find that video below and, don’t worry, the whole thing is dubbed. And don’t let that hour-long runtime fool you; you can fast-forward to about 30 minutes into the presentation, which is when it actually begins. If you don’t have time to watch, I’ll break down the key takeaways below.
First up, the release date. Iceborne will be made available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Sept. 6, with a winter launch planned for the PC crowd. If you already have Monster Hunter World, the expansion will set you back 40 bucks. Otherwise, if you are looking to jump into the game fresh, store shelves will be filled with a new version come September boasting all of the content in one package.
The new location in Iceborne is called Hoarfrost Reach and, according to the team, it will be revealed piece by piece throughout the expansions story and, once you’ve got free reign over the entire location, it will be the biggest map in Monster Hunter history.
This expansion also includes a new Master Rank for players to tackle, with all kinds of tough new battles to take on. If you’re a fan of the series, this was compared to previous games’ “G Rank.” Also, Iceborne will introduce some new moves for hunters to take advantage of, such as the ability to attach directly to a monster using a grapple hook and lead them into environmental hazards, traps and the like.
As for the new monsters, a handful were revealed during the stream including the bat-like dragon, Nargacuga, an elk-like Banbaro, a snow shark by the name of Beotodus and a new icy Elder Dragon, Valkhana.
And that’s only the tip of the ice berg. The Capcom team promises more info and streams as we get closer to Iceborne’s September launch.