'Monster Hunter Explore' given stealth Canadian releaseApr 21(AZINS) An exclusive soft launch on iOS for "Monster Hunter Explore" points towards international roll-out for the franchise's accessible, free-to-play smartphone apps.

Delivered to the Canadian App Store on April 19, "Monster Hunter Explore" offers a trimmed entry point to a franchise which, over the course of the last decade or so, has come to define its own particular genre.

Necessarily, aspects of the core franchise have been refined for Capcom's iOS iteration, which nonetheless sees up to four players smashing and bashing all manner of prehistoric and mythological beasts.

Despite the name, "Monster Hunter Explore" actually does away with the more explorative part of the monster-hunting experience, instead choosing to focus on the frantic battles that result from confrontations with its wild array of creatures.

As a free-to-play title, there are avenues for players to ensure monetary treasure flows back to Capcom as smartphone-toting hunters go about routing and looting the game's bestiary; coughing up real-world coin can help heroes revive themselves or open extra chests, increasing their prospects in the field.

Having released on the Japanese iOS and Google Play stores in September of 2015, "Monster Hunter Explore" has already benefited from positive impressions prior to this soft-launch test release through Canada.

It's been received as a welcome addition to the largely console-oriented franchise, especially after the now iconic "Monster Hunter Freedom Unite" was converted for iOS in 2014 but failed to receive compatibility updates as Apple's ecosystem migrated to iOS 9 in September 2015.

Though released only in Canada at this stage, making "Monster Hunter Explore" available in English opens it up to a whole new audience of early adopters who either have or are willing to create a Canadian App Store login for the purpose -- a process, as TouchArcade explains, is relatively straightforward.