Far Cry 5 May Ditch The 19th Century For A More Modern Western Setting

As we recently reported, it seems like Ubisoft may be fixing for a duel with Red Dead Redemption 2 as there are indications Far Cry 5 will also have a western theme. This information came from a somewhat unlikely source, as a small-town Montana newspaper reported Ubisoft was in the area filming a live-action trailer for an unnamed sequel to one of their franchises. Everything seemed to be pointing to a Wild West Far Cry, but it seems people's initial impressions may have been off just a little bit.

The fact that Far Cry 5 takes place in Montana seems to be pretty much confirmed, but the game's time period is in dispute. Kotaku's Jason Schreier, who previously seemed to support an Old West Montana setting, has since stepped in to clarify he was only confirming the Montana part…

"I just want to be clear: All I've heard is that the new Far Cry is set in Montana. I cannot confirm or deny anything 'Wild West' or '19th century.'"

With that out there, the NeoGAF posters who unearthed this story have since done some more digging, and have since found an interesting tidbit leaked on a past episode of the Giant Bombcast. According to an email the Giant Bomb crew received, Far Cry 5 will take place in modern day Montana and will see you taking on a militia group in a plot perhaps partly inspired by 2016 events in Oregon.

"According to [the email, Far Cry 5] will be set in present day, the protagonist is a cop who is trying run down a rebel group who has taken over some ranches and whatnot in the Montana region of the United States. Not 100% if it's Montana, but it's somehwere around there."

That certainly sounds like a plausible setup for a Far Cry game. The series has jumped around to different locales, but mainline, numbered entries in the series have always taken place in modern day, and often touched on contemporary issues. Far Cry Primal is the only time the series has tackled a historical setting, and you could argue that game was more of a spinoff. A modern setting would also mean Far Cry 5 won't be going up against Red Dead Redemption 2 in quite the same way, which is probably good thing for Ubisoft.

We'll keep you updated as more Far Cry 5 details are revealed!