Monster Hunter Wilds is not having a particularly good time of it over on Steam; thanks to ongoing performance issues and a perceived lack of meaningful content updates, players numbers are routinely dipping below those of the now seven-year-old Monster Hunter World, and recent reviews have tipped the game into Overwhelmingly Negative territory. Amid all this, Capcom has now outlined Monster Hunter Wilds’ next free Title Update, but whether it’ll do enough to shift player sentiment remains to be seen.

Monster Hunter Wilds’ free Title Update 2 officially launches next Monday, 30th June, bringing with it two much-loved monsters from previous games. You’ve got the heavily teased return of Monster Hunter 3’s serpentine leviathan Lagiacrus, for starters, alongside Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate’s spiny aerial nuisance Seregios, last seen in Monster Hunter Rise’s Sunbreak expansion. For some reason, Seregios immediately brings back memories of chef outfits, but it’s entirely possible that’s just delirium setting in.

Both beasts show off their Wilds’ reimaginings in Capcom’s newly revealed Title Update 2 trailer, and Lagiacrus fans may be pleased to know it returns with its underwater combat segments intact, kind of. Capcom describes the underwater portions of Lagiacrus’ fight as “accents” (the majority of the battle plays out on land), and while players can’t freely swing their weapons while submerged, there are some special actions they can do to add a bit of pizzazz to the encounter. To which I say, Capcom, bring back swimming properly, you cowards.

Lagiacrus and Seregios feature their own armour and weapons to craft, and they’ll appear as 8-star tempered monsters once unlocked. Title Update 2 also promises one additional monster – an arch-tempered version of the delightfully billowy Uth Duna – who’ll appear as a limited-time event quest for players at HR50 or above, between 30th July and 20th august.

Elsewhere, the update promises several new features. There’s new layered weapons, new functionality for photo mode – including brightness settings, new filter effects, and the ability to hide specific characters – plus the option to swap handlers, replacing Alma with Erik. Players can also select which support hunters they want to take out on quests, including new support hunter Mina, a Vespae Unit veteran who’s armed with a sword and shield.

Additionally, there’s talk of new events quests enabling players to forge special armour, a new challenge quest featuring Mizutsune, plus that arch-tempered Uth Duna challenge quest. And from 23rd July to 6th August, players can participate in the latest Festival of Accord seasonal event, Flamefete, which brings a range of summer-inspired rewards.

And that all leads up to perhaps the weirdest bit of Capcom’s latest showcase: a collaboration event with guitar maker Fender (thre’s apparently a real-life Monster Hunter guitar in Japan) running from 27th August to 24th September. This gives hunters a chance to unlock the brilliant/ludicrous Fender gesture, enabling them to rock out and play one of the classic Monster Hunter themes while their Palico pal air guitars merrily alongside them.

Will that be enough to placate players increasingly frustrated with Capcom’s approach to Monster Hunter Wilds? It remains to be seen, but the publisher has at least confirmed a third Title Update – featuring an additional monster and a new seasonal event – arrives this autumn. “I think Capcom has what it takes to turn the fortunes of Monster Hunter Wilds around,” Eurogamer’s Dom Peppiatt wrote recently. “It took seven patches for the publisher to figure out the issues with Dragon’s Dogma 2 back in 2024, and I’m just hoping Capcom can work that same engineering magic with Monster Hunter Wilds before it’s too late.”