Khezu returns in Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance looking flabbier, stretchier, and more disgusting than ever.
Capcom revealed a nasty surprise on Saturday (19 September) by confirming that Khezu will indeed be one of the returning monsters included in Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance.
Speculation that Khezu would be among the returning monsters coming in Ascendance was sparked when eagle-eyed fans on the Monster Hunter subreddit spotted it in the background of a promotional trailer over two weeks ago. While Khezu was not featured in the expansion's Tokyo Game Show 2026 trailer, which revealed the returning Elder Dragon Teostra instead, the disgusting Flying Wyvern popped up in a later demo livestream before Capcom confirmed its return.
Khezu now joins the Elder Dragons Kushala Daora, Lao Shan Lung, and Teostra among the list of returning monsters that will be featured in Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance. The expansion also adds two new monsters: the Flying Wyvern Arateka and the Elder Dragon Gundoraja.
Khezu appears in Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance in its most horrific form yet
Khezu is one of the most unusual creatures in the expansive bestiary of the Monster Hunter series, with an assortment of uncanny features borne from primarily living in cave environments. This loathsome Flying Wyvern has a pale, flabby hide and has no eyes, instead relying on its sense of smell to hunt prey. When it spots a victim, Khezu uses a specialised orifice on its tail to cling to the ceiling of caves to launch an ambush. It then stuns its prey with electrical attacks before using its highly-stretchable neck to swallow it whole. Disgusting stuff.
And to add to the eerie atmosphere it creates, Khezu hunts are the only large monster hunts in the series to not have battle music.
Khezu first appeared in the original Monster Hunter game back in 2004 and has been a fixture in the series since, with its last appearance prior to Ascendance being in 2023's Monster Hunter Rise and its expansion Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak.
From what was shown of Khezu in Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance so far, it's already the most horrifying version of the monster in the series so far. It is considerably flabbier than its previous incarnations and now sports two spikes popping out of each wing. Its neck is also stretchier than ever, which it uses to terrifying effect in a pin attack where it tries to swallow the player hunter whole.
Khezu whelps, the larval form of the monster that previously only appeared as gatherable items, now exist as small monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance.
What is Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance?
Ascendance will be the major expansion for Monster Hunter Wilds, adding a ton of new content to the base game in the same vein as Iceborne and Sunbreak for Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter Rise, respectively.
One of the biggest additions coming with Ascendance is Master Rank, which introduces a higher tier of difficulty for monster hunts that lets players hunt stronger monsters from the base game and the expansion to craft new weapons, armour, and more. Existing monsters from Monster Hunter Wilds' base game will not be the only ones players can hunt in the expansion, as Ascendance is also set to add both new monsters and returning ones from previous games.
To help players face the more challenging hunts in Ascendance, the expansion also adds the new ‘Boost Bracer’ mechanic. Hunters can build up energy for the Boost Bracer through aggressive attacks, then activate Boost for new combos, enhanced attacks, and other weapon-specific actions.
As befitting the expansion's ‘Ascendance’ name, a new locale in the Eastlands is also being added. The series of floating ruins seen in the expansion's trailers being called the Skybound Eyrie. The ruins in the Skybound Eyrie seem to be held aloft by the mysterious technology used by Wyveria, the ancient civilisation that once reigned over the Forbidden Lands.
When is Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance coming out?
Capcom did not reveal the official release date for Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance, only that the expansion is set to come out sometime in 2027 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Missed the show? Here are the biggest announcements and trailers from Capcom Spotlight September 2026 Tokyo Game Show edition.
