Capcom stock soars to an all-time high as Monster Hunter Rise releases

Capcom stock soared to an all-time high in Tokyo on Friday as the Japanese company released the sixth mainline entry in the Monster Hunter series.

Monster Hunter Rise hit stores today alongside a special edition Monster Hunter Rise Switch console and three Amiibo that let players unlock new armour sets.

Capcom has high hopes for the Switch exclusive. In January, the publisher told shareholders it expected to generate almost 20% more operating income this fiscal year, partly thanks to a “promising” start to pre-orders for the game.

The publisher has another tentpole release, Resident Evil Village, due for release in May, and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin coming to Switch on July 9.

While the Monster Hunter series has traditionally been successful in Japan, its popularity went global following the 2018 release of Monster Hunter World for PS4, Xbox One and PC.

The game became the first in Capcom’s history to ship 15 million copies. Total shipments had reached 16.8 million units as of December 2020.

Capcom is bullish about the game’s prospects in Europe. “We’re working very closely with Nintendo of Europe to make Monster Hunter: Rise a success in the region,” its European COO Stuart Turner told GamesIndustry.biz in an interview this week.

“We’re very confident that the massive success we’ve had in the past with Monster Hunter: World will transfer across to the passionate fanbase we have on Nintendo Switch.”

Monster Hunter Rise was announced in September 2020, when series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto said “the ‘Rise’ in the title refers to the idea of hunters running up cliffs and making use of the verticality of the environment”.

One of Monster Hunter Rise’s key new features is a small creature called the Wirebug, which players can use to explore elevated platforms and enhance attacks.

Monster Hunter Rise reviews went live on Tuesday and at the time of publication, the game has a Metascore of 87 on review aggregation site Metacritic, based on 67 reviews.

Critics are largely positive in their write-ups, with many labelling it one of the best entries in the series to date and praising its ability to cater to new and veteran players.

On Friday, Capcom released a day one patch for Monster Hunter Rise, which is required to play online and includes various bug fixes.

It also confirmed details of future updates scheduled to add new monsters. Monster Hunter Rise’s 2.0 patch, which is due to be released at the end of April, will include the release of Nushi Rio Leus.

“Several additional monsters, including the Kasumi Dragon Onazuchi, will appear as early as about a month later,” the company said.

Monster Hunter Rise will be released for PC in 2022.