The Far Cry franchise has been around for a long time. We’ve seen both great and not-so-great games come from it. As per the ordering, we are currently in the build-up to Far Cry 7. Ubisoft’s been tight-lipped about the anticipated next entry, but many massive leaks coming from industry insiders have spread like wildfire online, and here’s everything that they are saying.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Far Cry 7 Status: Reliable sources claim it is in development and internally known as Project Blackbird.
- Non-linear Story With A Timer: As per reports, Far Cry 7’s missions can be approached in any order, and an in-game timer affects the story depending on how long you take to finish it.
- Interrogation Mechanic: An interrogation mechanic might be introduced with outcomes unique to choices made.
- Alaskan Wilderness: The story is allegedly set in the Alaskan wilderness where players will have to rescue family members from a cult.
- Rumored For Fall 2025: Ubisoft is internally targeting a Fall 2025 release date.
Far Cry 7 Is Far In Development
There has never been any longer than a four-year gap between Far Cry titles since the franchise began back in 2004. It’s Ubisoft’s fourth best-selling franchise after all, right behind Assassin’s Creed, Tom Clancy, and Just Dance. Many people had already assumed Far Cry 7 was in development by the time the sixth mainline game was a year old, but the first accurate report came exclusively from Insider Gaming back in January 2023, which was later followed up by another one in September.
According to their sources, which have proven time and again to be right, there are two Far Cry games in development. One of them, Project Blackbird is a single-player game true to the franchise’s core formula while Project Maverick is a multiplayer game. Moreover, Blackbird will have a non-linear story and many new mechanics which we’ll be discussing throughout the article. It’s also worth mentioning the next Far Cry game could be titled differently and Project Blackbird isn’t called Far Cry 7 at all, but another new game with a subtitle like Far Cry Primal and New Dawn.
Be that as it may, another single-player entry is definitely in the works at Ubisoft, though it is assumed that the full production phase will continue throughout 2024. The official reveal will likely happen during the Ubisoft Forward event on June 10 where other Ubisoft games like Assassin’s Creed Codename Red and The Division 3 are rumored to appear, albeit it’s a bit of a wait before we can be sure.
Far Cry 7 Release Date?
Ubisoft usually gives a half a year to a year’s gap between the announcement trailer and the release date of a new Far Cry entry. For context, Far Cry 4 was announced in May 2014 and released in November of the same year, 6 months later. Far Cry 5 was announced in May 2017 and released in March 2018, 10 months later. Far Cry 6 was announced in July 2020 and released in October 2021, 13 months later, but was originally scheduled for February before being delayed because of the pandemic.
At the moment, the most reliable info on the Far Cry 7 release date comes from the same Insider Gaming report mentioned above. It states the next mainline game is set for Fall 2025. If accurate, that would put Far Cry 7’s launch somewhere near the rumored Resident Evil 9, GTA 6, and Death Stranding 2, making for quite a jam-packed year for AAA releases.
Given that so much Intel has leaked online, Ubisoft will probably make Far Cry 7 official before the year’s end, if not at the Ubisoft Forward event this June. A release date trailer should then follow in early 2025 if all goes well.
A Cold Story, In-game Timer, A Mad Cult On The Loose, And More
Moving on to the actual details, there’s a lot of them. The employees at Ubisoft left no stone unturned spewing everything onto the internet, so here goes.
Far Cry 7 is going to be bigger and badder, but one thing Ubisoft is trying to accomplish is to make lighting strike twice. It is rumored the developer wants to recreate the success it had with Far Cry 3. That one was critically acclaimed, and to this day is considered to be the best in the series by many.
They are also adding some elements, specifically a mad cult, from Far Cry 5 in there to sweeten the odds since the fifth mainline game was well received too. The new cult in question is supposedly called “Sons of the Truth” and leaks cite that Far Cry 7’s story will be about the protagonist saving his kidnapped family members from them in a remote Alaskan setting.
All family members can be saved in any order and to spice things up, Ubisoft has allegedly added an in-game timer that affects the story. The current rumor is that players will be given 72 in-game hours, that is 24 hours in real-time, to save all their family members. Failure to do so clearly implies repercussions, but there’s no info on what they look like.
Far Cry 6 took 24 hours to beat on average, and if the seventh mainline game is just as long, the in-game timer would certainly put players in a race against time. To Ubisoft’s credit, this is a really cool way of adding thrill to the game, especially now when the Far Cry franchise is a far cry from being innovative.
Far Cry 7 Will Introduce A New Interrogation Mechanic
The open world is also becoming livelier than ever in Far Cry 7, at least that’s what the new interrogation mechanic seems to be for. To find their family members, players will have to interrogate enemies. Now what’s interesting is that the leaks state the enemies’ response will vary depending on the player’s actions.
If enemies don’t feel intimidated, they might slip players the wrong intel and send them on a wild goose chase wasting time, whereas just the right pressure will get you one step closer to quickly rescuing your family. It’d certainly make for some compelling storytelling. That’s something lacking in most Far Cry games, so hopefully, Ubisoft hits a home run with this one.