If you’ve whizzed your way through Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflections already and you’re wishing its beasties had a little more bite, Capcom’s got you covered. It’s just announced some “extremely powerful” variants are on the way in a free future update, along with the news its first paid bit of story DLC might arrive soon than expected.

That’s according to Monster Hunter Stories 3 producer Ryozo Tsujimoto, who shared the news in a brisk video message. After thanking players for their feedback following the game’s release this month – feedback he says has left the development team feeling “encouraged and energised” – Tsujimoto had a few things to say about Stories 3’s new free update.

It’ll see extremely powerful variants of existing creatures, known as Royal Monsters, emerging in the field. These, he explained, will provide “even more challenging battles” for players. You will, however, need to progress your Rider to level 90 or above in order to take them on, and challengers are advised to “prepare carefully and use their strongest Monsties and strategies” in order to defeat them.

Capcom’s free update is currently expected to arrive “this summer”, but the additions don’t end there. Tsujimoto also addressed the development of Monster Hunter Stories 3’s first bit of paid story DLC – snappily titled Additional Side Story: Rudy – which is “currently progressing well”. So well, in fact, the team is “considering a potential earlier release date”, although further information won’t arrive until a future time. “Please bear with us for just a little longer,” requested Tsujimoto.

Monster Hunter Stories 3 launched for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, and PC earlier this month, and it’s an excellent third outing for Capcom’s turn-based RPG spin-off series. Even as a big Monster Hunter fan, I’ve struggled to gel with the previous Stories games, despite my best efforts and enthusiasm, but I’ve been having a blast with Stories 3, as I’ve written about elsewhere.