Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, granted its employees a company-wide holiday to celebrate the release of Monster Hunter Rise.
Automaton reported that Pocketpair's social media revealed a wave of "mysterious" absence notices from staff, citing potential illness on February 28th, the game's official launch date. This unscheduled break, a clear gesture of appreciation for the game, prompted Pocketpair to assure fans that game updates would remain unaffected.
Monster Hunter Rise's launch has been phenomenal, boasting over 1 million concurrent Steam players, catapulting it into Steam's top 10 most-played games of all time, surpassing titles like Baldur's Gate 3, Hogwarts Legacy, and Elden Ring. Despite this success, the game's Steam reviews are currently "mixed," leading Capcom to release PC performance optimization guidelines and announce details for Title Update 1, which will introduce an endgame social hub.
The game's impact is worldwide, but especially notable in Japan. Automaton highlighted a Japanese indie developer who humorously lamented their lack of Steam sales since Monster Hunter Rise's release.
This isn't Pocketpair's first employee gaming holiday; they implemented a similar initiative in 2022 for Elden Ring's launch.
To aid players in their Monster Hunter Rise journey, IGN offers various resources, including an article on hidden game mechanics, a guide to the 14 weapon types, a walkthrough (in progress), a multiplayer guide, and instructions for transferring beta characters.
IGN's review awarded Monster Hunter Rise an 8/10, praising its improved combat while noting a lack of significant challenge.
