Ryozo Tsujimoto, the lead producer of Capcom's Monster Hunter franchise, took the stage in Monster Hunter Wilds' latest developer update video to reveal news on the game's final base game update releasing on February 18, 2026, and its DLC expansion set to be revealed this Summer.
This update will bring about more performance boosts for consoles and PC, new challenges to overcome like Arch-Tempered Arkveld, new gear and collectibles to obtain in new Event Quests, and much more.
First of all, the Monster Hunter Wilds' February 2026 update will introduce the final Arch-Tempered monster for the base game, Arch-Tempered Arkveld.
This will be a 10* Event Quest where you get to hunt a much more powerful version of Arkveld that will use the abilities of its Guardian counterpart from the story campaign while incorporating new deadly moves in its arsenal.
There will also be a Challenge Quest version of Arch-Tempered Arkveld to fight on March 19, 2026.
What's more is that there will be new 10* Quest versions of the previous Arch-Tempered monsters to fight that reward players with Timeworn Charms that can be appraised for rare-quality talismans, and Battle-tempered Emblems to reinforce Gogma Artian weapons with.
On top of that, there will be a new Hunt-a-Thon optional Quest where you get to fight four Arch-Tempered monsters back-to-back, serving as the base game's final ultimate challenge.
The February 2026 update will also include the following:
- Monster Hunter Wilds' Weapon and Pendant Design contest winners, the Shatterseal Greatsword and Meatmergency Pendant, will be obtainable in Event Quests.
- A special collaboration with Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection where the player can earn Rudy as Palico armor and Monstie egg pendants in a Side Mission.
- An extra Side Mission where the player can earn the armor set of Nadia, an Ace Hunter from Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate.
- A free Character and Palico Voucher, where players can change their characters' and Palico's design.
Ryozo Tsujimoto then gives players a run-down of various Event Quests that players can take up in the coming weeks.
These quests include fighting an overpowered Rompopolo, a horde of slime monsters (an in-joke referencing the game's anti-arachnophobia feature), and fighting a Rey Dau and Gypceros duo to obtain the Gala Suit and Felyne Star armor sets from Monster Hunter World.
What's more is that all the previous seasonal events will return on a weekly rotational basis, along with a new Anniversary seasonal event. Plus, there will be even more new Event Quests added to the previous seasonal events, whose details will be revealed at a later date.
Next up, Ryozo Tsujimoto mentions that the Monster Hunter Festa event will take place on February 22, 2026, in Makuhari Messe, Japan.
Plus, Monster Hunter Wilds' final base game will include more performance enhancements for both consoles and PC platforms, building off the back of the game's resoundingly successful PC performance patch.
These include more CPU/GPU optimization, reducing GPU processing loads by adding level-of-detail (LOD) quality levels to 3D models' polygon mesh, and more.
Ryozo Tsujimoto then closes out the presentation by confirming that Capcom is working on Monster Hunter Wilds' large-scale DLC expansion.
It will be similar to Monster Hunter World: Iceborne and Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak, and more details on it will be revealed during this Summer 2026.
Capcom has fully redeemed Monster Hunter Wilds for its 1st anniversary
Monster Hunter Wilds has had a rough journey, but at last, it's finally seen light at the end of the tunnel.
At launch, the game disappointed hardcore fans like me with its lackluster difficulty and absence of a substantial endgame, and was review-bombed on Steam for nearly a year for its shockingly subpar PC performance.
Yet the developers never gave up on Monster Hunter Wilds. Though various post-game updates adding in new challenging monsters for hardcore players, balance changes, an insane crossover with Final Fantasy 14, and fixes for the game's PC performance issues, Capcom managed to win back the fans' favor, including mine.
Between this update and the upcoming Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, things are looking up for Monster Hunter in 2026.
Stay tuned for more hunts as we keep an eye out for news on Monster Hunter Wilds' DLC expansion, which will no doubt be revealed during Summer Game Fest 2026.
What do you think of Monster Hunter Wilds now that it's finally reached the end of its post-launch updates? Do you think it's in a better state now than it was at launch, or do you think the game needs more improvements on a fundamental gameplay level, that the DLC expansion could bring?
If you have any thoughts on the matter, let us know in the comments below.
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