Among Ubisoft’s many celebrated franchises, theFar Cryseries is right up there with the most popular. From 2012’s landmarkFar Cry 3to the most recentFar Cry 6, each game brings something new to the table in order to keep itsopen world game designfresh. As the series continues to be successful, it is expected that another entry will release in the near future.
However, fans anticipating that a newFar Crygame could launch sometime in 2022 may want to hold their breath. Of course, there are still several months ahead for Ubisoft to reveal something, but there are a number of details based on past release schedules and outside factors to consider that play against a newFar Crygame releasing this year.
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Far Cry 6’s Multiple Delays
As mentioned,Far Cry 6was the latest release in thefranchise, hitting most major consoles in October 2021. This followed upFar Cry: New Dawnin 2019 andFar Cry 5in 2018. Ubisoft tends to like its big IPs on a consistent release schedule, with a new entry hitting shelves every couple of years to maintain interest and keep sales figures up.
Although this release schedule remains fixed, anything can happen to throw things off.Far Cry 6was originally slated to be available in February 2021 before being delayed to September, and then finally launching in October. Because of this huge shift in release dates, Ubisoft may want to space out the launch of thenextFar Crygameby a decent margin in order to provide breathing room between games.
The Far Cry Reveal and Release Pattern
Speaking ofFar Cryrelease dates, Ubisoft has had a strategy with its marketing for the last several games. As of this writing in April 2022, there has been no concrete discussions or rumors regarding a newFar Crytitle on the horizon. Generally speaking, by this point in the year Ubisoft would have already formally announced thenextFar Cryprojectin order to build hype.
This helps to raise awareness and gauge interest before the planned launch of a game. For example,Far Cry 5was announced in May 2017, almost a full year before it became available in February 2018. Furthermore,Far Cry 6was shown off in June 2020, and although it did eventually come out in October 2021, this reveal would have still been a decent chunk of time before the original February 2021 release date.
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The Pandemic’s Impact on Ubisoft
One way or another, nearly everyone was impacted by theCOVID-19 pandemic. The gaming industry was no exception, with events like E3 being canceled and numerous major releases facing lengthy delays and production difficulties. Ubisoft has had its own share of woes, with a handful of its own games being delayed or removed from the release schedule entirely.
ThePrince of Persia: Sands of Time Remakewas originally slated for a January 2021 launch before getting delayed, and now it has been mostly silent for over a year. The pirate-action gameSkull and Boneshas also infamously faced setbacks ever since its reveal at E3 2017, so a pandemic couldn’t have helped matters. It also wouldn’t be out of the question for Ubisoft’s bread-and-butter franchises likeFar Cryto have been affected, especially as the company deals with ongoing sexual misconduct allegations and other such disruptions.
Far Cry 6’s huge delay could have been a result of the pandemic. It is already difficult to produce titles of this size and caliber under normal circumstances, so the extra pressure ofUbisoft staff working from homeprobably didn’t help. IfFar Cry 6experiences some issues in this regard, it is likely whatever the next game will be will also be put through the wringer.
Ubisoft may also want to give each of its franchises a chance to shine. With so many popular video game IPs under one roof, it is important to space everything out. The benefit of this would also be that while one franchise is primed for release, others have more time in development.Far Crywas Ubisoft’s big release this past holiday season, so there’s a chance the company could want to choose something else as its major game for 2022. There are rumors of anewAssassin’s Creedin production, and since its last installment was in the latter half of 2020, it could be due for the next follow-up.
