The open-world mobile game Monster Hunter Outlanders might be launching soon on October 29, but another spin-off has just stolen some of its spotlight. As among die-hard fans, attention has turned to the revival of a long-dead game instead. A modder known as Heroic835 has just released a private server for 2015’s Monster Hunter Explore, six years after Capcom pulled the plug.
If you’ve played Monster Hunter Now, Explore should actually feel surprisingly familiar despite predating the location-based game by eight years. It reworked the series’ controls into a vertical-screen, one-tap and swipe gameplay. You can even lock onto a monster’s individual parts without the need for specific armor skills. For series diehards, though, its biggest curiosity is something no other Monster Hunter game has — the Accel Axe.
The Monster Hunter Explore exclusive weapon combines an axe with a propulsion system, making it look similar to World‘s Wyvern Ignition Great Sword. However, of course, it comes with an actual unique gameplay mechanics. Hunters can spend its Accel Gauge to rocket themselves around the target monster and unleash explosive attacks. Despite developing something of a cult following, the weapon never escaped its home before the game was shut down. Like Tonfa and Magnet Spike in Frontier.
The Heroic Server community released its Monster Hunter Explore private server for Android on October 5, 2026. According to the project’s GitHub and Discord, Hunters can easily play it by using a homebrew patcher on an original Japanese APK through a PC or mobile phone. Once installed, the 150 MB game then downloads around 1.97GB of additional data from Heroic’s server.
However, this resurrection currently comes with one major catch — it’s Android-only and there’s no iOS release in sight. After all, Apple’s more restrictive closed ecosystem makes sideloading an equivalent version considerably harder to do.
Originally developed by Capcom Online Games, Monster Hunter Explore launched in Japan on September 29, 2015. Capcom did briefly attempt to take the free-to-play spin-off overseas, running a Canadian soft launch between April and July 2016. Nevertheless, a full Western release never materialized.
It eventually ended service on November 27, 2020, in Japan after bringing in crazy crossovers for more than five years. From Evangelion-themed Brachydios and Gore Magala to Kamen Rider Den-O getup for your Hunters.
