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‘Far Cry 5’ brings back the series’ map editor, and it’s deeper than ever

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The map editor has been a staple of the Far Cry series for years, allowing creative players to make their own custom levels with robust development tools, and it will return when Far Cry 5 launches later this month. Dubbed “Far Cry Arcade,” it’s loaded with assets to make custom levels and missions — and some of those assets don’t even come from Far Cry games.

“Far Cry Arcade is a feature inside Far Cry 5. It’s free all of our players,” said Far Cry Arcade lead game designer Clark Davies in the announcement video. “It’s really our platform where all of our players can build Far Cry bite-sized experiences and then share them with the community and let everyone play and experience great user-generated content.”

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By interacting with arcade machines you see in the main Far Cry 5 campaign, you can enter Far Cry Arcade and start playing the developer-curated user-made levels. Any progress you make in terms of experience or perks will stick around once you go back to the campaign, and it includes a few new modes. “Bounty Hunt” tasks you with killing a particular target, while “Journey” is exploration-based, featuring no combat at all. Twelve-player competitive multiplayer levels can also be accessed through Far Cry 5, and creators can pick which items are made available to players. Cooperative missions can designed, as well.

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What’s most interesting, however, is that your creation tools contain items from other Ubisoft games, as well. About 7,000 are available, and along with Far Cry 4 and Far Cry Primal items, you can also use items from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Unity as well as Watch Dogs. Assets from the game’s expansions will also be added to Far Cry Arcade, including zombies and “Martian arachnids.”

“After Far Cry 5‘s launch, Far Cry Arcade will be continually supported by the developers, who will pick new content to be featured each week, as well as oversee ‘map-jams,’ contests, tutorial live-streams, and other activities for map builders,” UbiBlog editor Mikel Reparaz added in a blog post. “You’ll also be able to preview new maps on the web, add them to a list, and see them waiting for you the next time you boot up Far Cry 5.”

Far Cry 5 launches for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on March 27.

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Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
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