Far Cry 4
Far Cry 5 could release in 2016. (Representative Image)blog.ubi.com

Ubisoft's Far Cry series has been one action-adventure video game that many look forward to for its seriousness and more. The last game it released was Far Cry 4 when it came out in November 2014. Now rumours have surfaced on the possibility of Far Cry 5 releasing in 2016.

It is well known that Ubisoft does release games annually, especially Assassin's Creed series. But the same is not true for Far Cry series.

iDigitalTimes compares Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series with that of the Far Cry series. It says that there have been four main games with respect to Far Cry and Assassin's Creed on the other hand has had nine main games, if we leave out the spinoffs.

The report adds that there was a gap of two years between Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 4. Though there was similarity between the two games. However, it argued that Far Cry 5 might be different. Ubisoft might use a revised engine too.

The report goes on to argue that Far Cry 4 was successful, shipping about 7 million units by the end of 2014. The unit sales were more by a million with regards to internal assessment. Such good numbers will give Ubisoft the assurance of good figures and hence convert the game into an annual or semi-annual series.

So if Ubisoft is convinced about the greater number of sales, it will not be surprising if the company decides to roll out Far Cry 5 in 2016, thereby doubling up the development work.

Top Potential Locations

In January 2015, Ubisoft conducted a poll and selected a few of Far Cry players asking their opinion on the potential places for Far Cry 5 to be set. Below is the list of places that was suggested by the Ubisoft poll:

  • A Far Cry game in remote Alaska about surviving extreme wilderness
  • A Far Cry game in a futuristic, sci-fi setting on another planet
  • A Far Cry game set in the Vietnam war during the 1960s
  • A Far Cry game set in the cocaine trafficking jungles of Peru
  • A Far Cry game where you can fight against or join vampires
  • A Far Cry game in the Spaghetti Western style set in the late 19th century Americas
  • A Far Cry game that is set during a zombie outbreak
  • Blood Dragon 2: A sequel to Blood Dragon with more Rex Power Colt
  • A Far Cry game set in a Mad Max style post-apocalyptic world
  • A Far Cry game in the present day on a Jurassic Park style island of dinosaurs
  • A Far Cry game based on the world of Shangri-La from Far Cry

Taking hints from the poll survey we can suggest some potential locations for the game namely the Alaskan wilderness where the characters are prone not only to the cold temperature but also to the dangerous beasts that lurk in the snow.

The 1960s Vietnam with its tropical weather, the rain and jungles is also a good location. Like the protagonist might cruise through the The Mekong Delta, with its rivers, swamps and islands. The villages where rebel activity was high, the Viet Cong and their tunnels, the GIs, all these might add variety to the plot, reminding us of the movie "Apocalypse Now."

The drug cartels working across the South American countries also provide us with new location in Peru, where lot of illegal cocaine business has moved to following the crackdown in neighbouring Colombia. It too has all the ingredients of a potential location, The Andes mountain ranges, the cartels, the anti drug enforcers, the indigenous tribes,  the government forces and many more.

There are other locations that can also be considered namely Middle East (land held by international terrorist group ISIS that includes parts of Iraq and Syria) and even perhaps Ukraine (where a undeclared war has been raging on in Luhansk, Donetsk between the pro Russian rebels and the Ukrainian military). 

Will it include Vampires and Dinosaurs?

The Ubisoft poll that was released to select few of Far Cry players asks players if they would want Far Cry 5 to include vampires or dinosaurs (with a Jurassic Park-style setting).

This gives us an insight into what Ubisoft has been considering for the yet to be announced Far Cry 5 video game.