Monster Hunter Wilds' gets its first major expansion, Ascension, at Summer Game Fest

1 week ago 5

Published Jun 5, 2026, 6:42 PM EDT

A trip above the clouds

Alma from Monster Hunter Wilds Ascension

Polygon Summer Game Fest 2026 Live game reveals, world premiere trailers, and what’s next from 40+ developers, publishers, and hardware makers.

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Ascension is very Monster Hunter 4 coded. You and the gang fly above the clouds to a network of floating islands that folks were quick to point out looked heavily inspired by Monster Hunter 4's Heaven's Mount region, and at least one of the elder dragons showing up is Kushala Daora, another favorite from Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (though, to be fair, Kushala Daora also appeared in MonHun 2 and Freedom Unite). Another big-name big guy is Lao-Shan Lung, an elder dragon Capcom hasn't brought back to mainline Monster Hunter since Generations Ultimate and, before that Freedom Unite. The trailer also showed what looked like a new function for the bowgun and some slick new moves.

Wilds has had a rough go of it. Following a high-profile launch, where it sold nearly 10 million copies, it faced widespread criticism for how streamlined its hunts were and months of performance troubles on PC.

2027 is looking like another big year for Capcom. Also at Summer Game Fest, the studio revealed Resident Evil Veronica, an ambitious remake of 2000's Code Veronica that's slated for release in 2027 as well.