Ubisoft Explains Why Far Cry 5 Is Set In Montana

Those who have played previous games in the Far Cry series will remember some of the exotic settings that the games took place in, so it might've come as a surprise to see that the newest upcoming game, Far Cry 5 reigned in its wild typically wild environment to rural Montana, the first time that one of the games will be set in the U.S. Amid controversy related to the antagonists that the game features, some players wondered what the reasoning was when it came to bringing the game to more relatable setting.

According to Drew Holmes, lead writer of the game, told GamingBolt that the Montana landscape was a combination of scenery and mystery that the team thought would perfectly fit in Far Cry 5.

"We had a few ideas on where to take the franchise," Holmes said in an interview with GamingBolt. "But Dan Hay [director of the game] always talks about bringing Far Cry to America, pretty much since they've done Far Cry 3. The first place that everyone decided to check out was Montana. I think that there's a great sense of frontier, great sense of wilderness, of danger, wildlife, there's mountains, there's big sky. There's lots of places that feel unknown even though it is in the backyard."

Hay said that after the team was able to visit Montana to scout out the area and see if it'd work as the game's setting, and after meeting residents of the state, they thought that the vibe there would resonate well with where they wanted to take Far Cry 5. The writer described the residents as a self-reliant group of people with an attitude that wouldn't allow them to be pushed around, and he also cited the state's somewhat standoffish history as a factor for using it as the game's setting. Montana was the first place that the team visited when scouting out locations, and they made their decision shortly after visiting.

Along with the new settings and the controversial villains, Far Cry 5 also won't have any towers or mini-maps. The decision to remove them comes from the combination of wilderness and civilization that's found in Montana, forcing players to find their own way while also thinking logically and enlisting the help of nearby residents.

Far Cry 5 is scheduled to be released on Feb. 7, 2018, for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

[via GamingBolt]