Monster Hunter Rise on PlayStation and Xbox will be digital-only

Monster Hunter Rise released back in March 2021 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch to great commercial and critical success. Rise was later brought to PC the following year, with a PlayStation and Xbox release recently announced for early 2023. Unfortunately, those hoping to purchase the game physically on either console will be disappointed, as Monster Hunter Rise will be digital-only.

As announced by Capcom (via Gematsu), when Monster Hunter Rise releases for PlayStation 4; PS5; Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on the 20th of January, it will do so in a digital-only format. Unfortunately, Rise will not release physically at a later date, with Gematsu confirming that no physical editions are planned in any capacity.

While it is common for PC games to release in a digital-only format, most major console titles are accompanied by both digital and physical releases – and so Capcom’s decision to go digital-only in this instance is interesting.

That being said, this move is not wholly surprising, as we previously reported that 95% of all Capcom sales in Q2 2022 were digital, meaning physical media made up just 5% of the publisher’s earnings.

EA previously claimed that it would stop selling physical media in Germany and other German speaking countries – and while Capcom has not yet taken such a regional route, it is seemingly making the decision on a game-by-game basis. It will be interesting to see what other future Capcom games go digital-only.

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KitGuru says: What do you think of this move by Capcom? Are you less likely to buy a console game digitally? Do you think Capcom will do this with all future releases? Let us know down below.

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