Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, granted its employees a company-wide holiday to celebrate the release of Monster Hunter Rise. Automaton reports that the studio received numerous "mysterious" absence notices from staff citing potential illness on February 28th, the game's launch date. While a thoughtful gesture, Pocketpair assured players that game updates would proceed as scheduled.

Monster Hunter Rise's launch has been phenomenal, boasting over 1 million concurrent Steam players, propelling it into Steam's top 10 most-played games, surpassing titles like Baldur's Gate 3, Hogwarts Legacy, and Elden Ring. Despite this success, the game's Steam reviews are currently "mixed," prompting Capcom to release PC performance optimization guidance and announce details for Title Update 1, which will introduce an endgame social hub.

The game's impact is worldwide, particularly notable in Japan. One Japanese indie developer humorously lamented on social media a complete absence of Steam sales since Monster Hunter Rise's release. This isn't Pocketpair's first instance of such a generous employee perk; a similar holiday was granted in 2022 for the release of Elden Ring.

To aid your Monster Hunter Rise journey, explore our resources: uncovered game mechanics, a guide to all 14 weapon types, a comprehensive walkthrough (in progress), a multiplayer guide, and instructions for transferring beta characters.

IGN awarded Monster Hunter Rise an 8/10, praising its refined combat but noting a lack of significant challenge.