Monster Hunter Wilds’ initial content update introduces a “heightened level of difficulty” in April.

With Monster Hunter Wilds finally so close you can almost smell it (sweat, damp cat, and a lingering whiff of dung bomb, would be my guess), Capcom has teased more of what’s coming in its first post-launch content update, now confirmed to be launching in “early April”.

This isn’t the first time Capcom has discussed Monster Hunter Wilds’ Title Update 1, of course; earlier this month, it revealed everyone’s favourite bubble dragon Mizutsune would be the first post-launch monster joining Wilds. But now, on the eve of the game’s release, it’s additionally teased a “new level of challenge”, that’ll manifest as a monster of “formidable strength” somewhere above the tougher Tempered variants currently found in-game.

Its announcement also alluded to “another challenging monster”, but it’s unclear if this is a reference to Mizutsune or a third new monster. Either way – as I noted in my review this week – Wilds’ difficulty feels like it skews a little low at the moment, even where Tempered monsters are involved, so it’ll be nice get something a little tougher to tackle so early into its lifespan.

And there’s more. Capcom has also teased a “new place to gather” for hunters who’ve completed the main story, providing somewhere for friends to “meet, communicate, have meals together, and more”. And by more, I assume it means arm wrestle. Currently, Wilds doesn’t have a centralised gathering hub in the same way previous Monster Hunters games did, so the addition should create a welcome social focal point for players. And hopefully we’ll get some seasonal decor to admire once the post-launch quests start rolling in.

But before Title Update 1’s “early April” release, Monster Hunter Wilds is set to receive a 15GB day one update – although Capcom hasn’t yet detailed what it’ll include. Hopefully, it’ll address the technical rough spots evident in the pre-launch version – which Digital Foundry called “undercooked” on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, although the PS5 Pro version fares better.