Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance Trailer Names New Elder Dragon Gundoraja
The reveal pairs the new Elder Dragon Gundoraja with the returning Lao Shan Lung, whose return anchors the expansion's story, and the TGS demo gives players a first hands-on with the new monster ahead of the 2027 launch.
Key Facts
- CAPCOM revealed the Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance expansion trailer during Sony's State of Play on September 3, 2026, introducing the new Elder Dragon Gundoraja.
- The Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance expansion launches in 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
- Tokyo Game Show demos at the PlayStation and Capcom booths will offer a hunt quest against the new monster Araqueta.
- The expansion's story is set several years after the base game, with Nata grown up and aiming to become a hunter.
- The base game Monster Hunter Wilds sold over 8 million copies worldwide in its first three days after its February 2025 launch.
Reporting from 5 sources: Anime News Network, GAME Watch (Impress), Denfaminicogamer, Inside, and 1 more.
CAPCOM revealed the first trailer for Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance during Sony's State of Play on September 3. The trailer introduces Gundoraja, a new Elder Dragon that controls thunderclouds, and shows returning monsters Lao Shan Lung and Kushala Daora. The expansion adds Boost Drivers, attacks that activate Boost, which temporarily strengthens certain actions and opens new combos, stronger guarding, and more. A new field, the Kumoi Ruins, uses Seikret gliding and updrafts for vertical exploration. A new bird wyvern, Araqueta, also appears. Tokyo Game Show demos at the PlayStation and Capcom booths will offer a hunt quest against Araqueta. The expansion launches in 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. According to PlayStation.Blog, the story takes place several years after the base game's ending. Nata, who was a child in Monster Hunter Wilds, has grown into a young man working with the survey team and aiming to become a hunter, accompanied by his partner Moriba Sakigake.
CAPCOM also released a producer interview video featuring Ryozo Tsujimoto, who discussed the new field and monsters. The company published separate videos on Wednesday and Thursday detailing the Boosted Actions feature for specific weapon types, starting with Great Sword and Bow. The story centers on Madoy, a new base built in preparation for the return of the giant Elder Dragon Lao Shan Lung.
The base game Monster Hunter Wilds sold over 8 million copies worldwide in its first three days after its February 2025 launch, which CAPCOM said was the fastest any of its titles reached that milestone; as of March 2025 the game had sold 10 million copies. The game is also in development for Nintendo Switch 2. The fourth free title update, which launched in December 2025, was described as the final major content update for the base game and added the Elder Dragon Gogmazios, Arch-Tempered Jin Dahaad, the Festival of Accord: Lumenhymn event, and armor transcendence. The Ascendance expansion is in development for a 2027 release.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 5 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network News Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance Game Expansion's Trailer Introduces Gundoraja
- GAME Watch (Impress) 「モンハン：アセンダンス」新古龍の名前は「グンドラージャ」！ TGS試遊は新モンス討伐クエ【State of Play】
- Denfaminicogamer 『モンハンワイルズ：アセンダンス』成長した“ナタ”が「かっこよすぎる」とSNSで話題に。顔つきがあまりにも頼もしい
- Inside 本編から続くさらなるストーリーが垣間見える『モンハンワイルズ』超大型拡張「アセンダンス」新映像が公開【State of Play】
- Game Spark 新古龍の名前も判明！『モンハンワイルズ』DLC「アセンダンス」辻本P登場のインタビュー映像公開【State of Play】