After the anticipated sequel was leaked a while ago, Ubisoft has finally come forth with the existence of Far Cry 4, a game they were teasing at length anyhow. It is officially set for release this November.
The leaked details, which we reported on previously, appear to be mostly accurate. The game is indeed set in the Himalayas, specifically in a place called Kryat, a fictional Himalayan region ruled by a, “Despotic, self-appointed king.” It’s unconfirmed at this point whether said king, currently a nameless antagonist, is familiar with the definition of insanity. He does however appear to be sporting a stylish purple leisure suit, if the promotional art is any indication.
Far Cry 4 is being primarily developed by Ubisoft Montreal, the same developer heading production of the previous Far Cry 3, with Ubisoft Toronto, Ubisoft Kiev and Ubisoft Shangai assisting, along with Tom Clancy-born developer, Red Storm Entertainment. This collaboration between studios is part of a new next-gen game development strategy by Ubisoft, who have twenty-six subsidiary outfits, and employ over eight-thousand developers. Ubisoft corroborated the initiative by simultaneously confirming that the anticipated next-gen exclusive, Assassin’s Creed Unity is being developed by a staggering ten of their studios.
While most details are unconfirmed at this point, with Ubisoft stating that more will be unveiled about Far Cry 4 during their E3 press conference on June 9th, the game is said to be following a similar open-world style as its predecessors, and will again place a huge emphasis on guns, vehicles and animal-related combat, likely including the elephants that were teased in the leaked information.
Why Ubisoft didn’t just wait until E3 to announce Far Cry 4 properly is a bit of a mystery. Perhaps they were either trying to pre-empt a leak that has already largely been made, or simply have too many other announcements at their E3 keynote, and wanted to make room for them by shedding a spoiled surprise game announcement that the public pretty much already knew about anyhow.
While the initial leak suggested that Far Cry 4 may be a next-gen-only release, this actually isn’t true. While Far Cry 4 is indeed releasing for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, it will also come to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 at the same time, on November 18th of this year. The game unfortunately appears to be skipping Wii U, despite Ubisoft’s avid support of Nintendo’s struggling console, which saw ports of their most recent high-profile efforts, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Splinter Cell: Blacklist and the recent Child of Light, and previously held the well-received Rayman Legends as a planned exclusive. Despite a delay, Ubisoft’s new open-world IP, Watch Dogs will also come to Wii U before the end of this year.
If you pre-order Far Cry 4 on any of its five confirmed platforms, you’ll receive a free upgrade to the game’s Limited Edition, which includes the Hurk’s Redemption DLC for free, adding three single-player missions starring fan-favourite character, Hurk from Far Cry 3’s DLC selection, along with his signature harpoon gun, The Impaler. This would also seem to indicate that Ubisoft might be moving away from PlayStation-exclusive bonuses, which Watch Dogs will offer, just as the previous few Assassin’s Creed games did, along with Far Cry 3 having priority DLC on PlayStation 3 beforehand.
Stay tuned for Ubisoft’s E3 keynote for more news on this hot new sequel, and don’t forget that Eggplante is continuing to bait and trap all of your Far Cry news.