Capcom is set to release Monster Hunter Rise on new platforms in 2023, but there's a big catch for gamers that prefer to own physical copies of their titles rather than digital. Monster Hunter Rise has been available on Nintendo Switch and PC since it was released back in 2021, but Capcom only recently stated that the title will be coming to PlayStation and Xbox in January.Video game publication Gematsu recently confirmed that Capcom will only be releasing Monster Hunter Rise digitally for the January 20, 2023 release, and no physical copies have been announced. While the lack of a physical copy is nothing new for PC games, Nintendo Switch fans of Monster Hunter Rise may end up being the only ones with a copy of the title that they can actually hold or put on their shelves. Game releases that aren't accompanied by proper retail releases have become a hot-button issue among parts of the gaming community as Monster Hunter Rise joins the likes of Fortnite, The Outer Worlds, and Overwatch as opposed to standard releases that include the disc or cartridge.The Gematsu Twitter account confirmed on December 5 that Capcom isn't planning to release Monster Hunter Rise physical copies for PlayStation or Xbox consoles upon release. Xbox players may be less impacted by this decision as Monster Hunter Rise will be featured as part of the Xbox Game Pass lineup on launch day, but PlayStation fans will be left purchasing digital only. Capcom fans that choose not to opt for digital-only games will still be able to buy a Monster Hunter World disc for their libraries in the meantime as they anticipate the possibility of more launches in the future.
Because companies like Limited Run Games sometimes do physical releases for existing games, Monster Hunter Rise fans may be able to acquire a disc of their game in the future if Capcom permits it. Since its 2018 cross-platform release, Monster Hunter World has become one of Capcom's biggest success stories which may be one of the reasons it's branching Monster Hunter Rise out to other consoles. Given that Monster Hunter Rise has been available on the Nintendo Switch for a year, Nintendo may have had a timed exclusivity deal for the console version of the game while PC players were free to experience it at their leisure and other console gamers had to wait.
Although some Monster Hunter fans have lamented that Monster Hunter Rise will be like other releases in the franchise in missing an actual disc, Capcom may not even offer a box with the code inside to avoid potential backlash. Some players have noted that they already switched to buying digital copies of games like millions of Sony fans long before Monster Hunter Rise, while a few noted that they'll skip the January release because of the inconvenience.
Monster Hunter Rise is available now for PC and Switch, with PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S versions launching on January 20, 2023.