The popular action RPGMonster Hunter Riseis continuing to see success, despite nearly two years passing since the original release date. It is the latest installment of Capcom USA’sMonster Hunterseries, andwhile quite different fromMonster Hunter World, the sequel is still being well-received by critics and players alike. However, digital-only copies of the game on both PlayStation and Xbox came as a shock to many fans of the franchise who were hoping to snag a physical disk.The decision to skip a physical release could potentially be leaving quite an untouched profit on the table for the publisher. AlthoughMonster Hunter Risewas originally exclusive to Nintendo Switch it’s now playable across all consoles, including PC. Its expansionMonster Hunter Rise: Sunbreakis continuing to progress the world with new creatures, locales, and more. A physical release for PlayStation and Xbox players could turn out to be the right choice for the business, even if there are likely a few reasons why it is not happening.RELATED:Nergigante Should Follow Velkhana Into Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak
How the Expansion Impacts a Physical Monster Hunter Rise Release
While a Tweet from Gematsu confirmed that PlayStation and Xbox are currently slated for digital release only, Nintendo Switch saw a physical release ofMonster Hunter Risein 2021 that is still purchasable. Some people theorized that perhaps the addition ofMonster Hunter Rise: Sunbreakwould see the base pack plus the expansion being physically sold together. However, seeing asMonster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak’s additions are split into so many different updates, this is becoming less and less likely.
Of course, the large Sunbreak expansion is still confirmed for a Spring release, so it’s possible Capcom USA will bundle the two. The base game is a much smaller file size than pastMonster Huntertitles (sitting at 8.8GB) which could be one of the company’s reasons for not selling the $40 game on its own. Companies such as Limited Run Games often do physical releases for games that are already out, so it’s not entirely impossible that such a scenario could bring the latestMonster Huntergame to people’s homes.
While players wait, however, the most recent Sunbreak update, called Title Update 4, is now available as of July 19, 2025. This digital eventsees the addition of new Elder Dragons such as Velkhanaand Risen Crimson Glow Valstrax. Plenty of new content is available to explore with promises of more to come in Update 5, which is said to be dropping sometime in April 2023. It’s possible this version may become available for both Xbox and PlayStation as well.
The Increase in Downloadable Titles Versus Physical Copies
It may be true thatMonster Hunter Riseis likely leaving a portion of its customers dissatisfied, but the gaming industry has been seen shifting away from selling physical media for quite some time now. Most people don’t mind owning a digital copy over a physical these days unless they are collectors, don’t have enough download space, or lack internet capable of downloading larger files.
In Capcom USA’s case, there are dominating reasons to leave this particular title off the physical shelf. It’s true that the production of digital games is cheaper than physical ones because the company doesn’t need to pay for manufacturing, shipping, stocking, or packaging costs. Digital sales also prevent resellers which means the publisher is now seeing most of the profit rather than places like GameStop or Best Buy. It seems the PlayStation community may be the ones to be most impacted by this decision, asXbox users are seeingMonster Hunter Risefeatured in the Xbox Game Passlineup.
This is not the first time that Capcom USA has opted not to release a physical disc, though it is interesting that it isn’t putting out cases with codes either. ManyMonster Hunter Riseplayers appear to be making the change to digital-only fairly seamlessly,just as PlayStation users have been doingfor the past few years. For those who love collecting physical game copies, though, the lack of a disk version will surely be disappointing, and it could ultimately result in a few less sales for Capcom.
Monster Hunter: Riseis out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
