Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

‘Far Cry 5’: Everything we know so far

Update: Our Far Cry 5 review notes that the game has a dark, austere story that invokes modern political tensions. It also has a Grizzly bear named Cheeseburger. 

Ubisoft’s Far Cry series has taken us to tropical islands, the snowy mountains of the Himalayas, and to the origin of humankind itself. After weeks of rumors, the publisher announced that the next game will, in fact, be called Far Cry 5. Shortly after announcing the title, Ubisoft released four teaser trailers, confirming recent rumors that the game would be set in Hope County, a fictionalized region in Montana. Since the official reveal in May 2017, we’ve played the game at Ubisoft’s E3 2017 conference. Here is everything we know about the game ahead of its March, 2018 launch.

Recommended Videos

Also check out our first impressions of Far Cry 5.

Go west, young man

Prior to the game’s full unveiling, four very brief teaser trailers gave us a look at Far Cry 5. All of the teasers introduce the game setting, Hope County, Montana.

 

In the first teaser, the camera pans across a river. You might miss it at first glance due to the beautiful scenery, but there is a body floating in the water.

In a brisk wind, a man flees through a wide-open field, and rather predictably, he is shot before he reaches safety.

In the third trailer, the camera follows us toward a small church. There’s a man at the top of the steeple hand-ringing the church bell. As the camera gets closer to the bell, you see that he is using a woman’s head to ring the bell. In the background, a congregation, presumably inside the church, is singing “Amazing Grace.”

In the fourth teaser, the camera is set above the trees in the wilderness. A man screams out in agony, causing a flock of birds to flutter away.

Rumors about the game’s setting began earlier this month after the Great Falls Tribune spotted a crew filming live-action promotional footage. Jeff Guillot, who has worked on Ubisoft promotional material before (Driver, Red Steel 2, Rabbids), said he was shooting footage related to “a sequel to an existing global franchise.” He claimed that the game would take place “in an imaginary location.”

This rebel group is a religious cult called The Project at Eden’s Gate. If the game’s official cover art is any indication, its main antagonist, a man named Joseph Seed who is commonly known as “The Father,” will be just as charismatic as the previous games’ Pagan Min and Vaas Montenegro. Much like Far Cry 3 and 4, Seed is in the center, with his hands outstretched as a number of other members stare at him. An American flag, with the stars replaced by other symbols, is draped over the table he’s sitting behind, and a shirtless, bound man is crouched in front — the word “sinner” is written across his back.

Though the group appears to be inspired, at least in part, by real-life anti-government terrorists, it’s also possible that they are based on the Church Universal and Triumphant cult. The Montana-based organization had predicted that the world would come to an end in 1990.

Looking behind the group of people, we can see a small church with the same symbol from the American flag draped across its top. A flagpole is also visible, with another flag — again using the symbol — displayed above the American flag. Two planes, one smoking from its fuselage, are also approaching from behind.

A county in terror

Hope County has been taken over by the Project at Eden’s Gate, with Joseph Seed indoctrinating its residents with the promise of a “better path” as the world creeps toward “the edge.” Though some of its cult members choose to come willingly, others are forcibly removed from their homes by armed militia and forced to join.

But not everyone is going down without a fight. Pastor Jerome Jeffries, who lost his church after Seed’s cult gained a foothold, is fighting back with “the Good Book and a good gun,” and citizens Nick Rye and Mary May Fairgrave have taken up arms after Seed threatened their land. You play as a junior police deputy who is customizable — you can choose both gender and race.

Much of Seeds’ philosophy seems to be based around the seven deadly sins. In the game’s announcement trailer, we see an overweight man impaled on a stake bearing the cult’s symbol, with “gluttony” written on a tower behind him. Elsewhere, an evangelist has the word “greed” carved into his arm, presumably as a form of punishment.

Crazy cult, meet crazy weaponry

Far Cry 5 will feature the biggest arsenal of weapons ever seen in the series. Items announced thus far include an AR-C assault rifle, dynamite, a sledgehammer, and a baseball bat.

You’ll also be able to hire resistance members to help you in your cause — some with four legs and teeth. “Boomer,” a dog available to assist you in missions, will function much like D-Dog did in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. He can tag enemies so that you can plan ambushes before venturing out into danger, and he’s also useful in combat. The game’s first demonstration showed him actually ripping a gun out of the hands of an enemy, giving the player plenty of time to take the enemy out.

Grace Armstrong, meanwhile, is a stealthy sniper who can pick off targets from afar while you move into close-range combat. You have full control over where she positions herself — in the gameplay demonstration, the protagonist directs her to take aim from a nearby water tower.

Vehicles revealed so far include ATVs, boats, muscle cars, pickup trucks, deadly tractors, and airplanes. Nick Rye is equipped with a plane, and can deliver death and destruction from above if you’re in a sticky situation. In addition to machine guns, he can also launch missiles for extra carnage.

Greater destruction will lead to greater difficulty. The game includes a “resistance meter” that will increase as you cause more destruction. As it goes up, the enemies you face will become tougher. Just as in Far Cry 4, however, you don’t have to go it alone. A friend can join in on the open-world action in cooperative mode.

Teamwork makes the dream work

As highlighted in a trailer released during Sony’s 2017 Paris Games Week presentation, you will be able to play through the entire campaign in online co-op with a friend.

After completing the tutorial, a “Friend for Hire” will be able to jump in (as their custom player character) at any time and join you for any and all missions. Allies will have voice chat, and be able to share ammo and health, or even turn on friendly fire if they’re feeling especially confident (or spiteful). Stray too far and the game will teleport you together. Co-op will be limited to people on your friends list, with no random matchmaking.

This land is your land

The map editor, which has been a series feature since Far Cry 2, returns in Far Cry 5, allowing players to create custom maps for competitive multiplayer. Ubisoft has not shared any details yet, but presumably it will work similarly to the editor in Far Cry 4, which allowed for the design of the environments themselves, as well as tweaks to rules such as inventory size, animal spawns, and gravity.

So when can we play it?

Far Cry 5 comes to

Xbox One

,

PlayStation 4

, and PC March 27, 2018. Ubisoft originally planned to release the game on February 27, but pushed it back a month to “optimize the experience.”

Update: Revised launch date.

Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Virtua Fighter 6: everything we know so far
A man waling toward the word Ready in Virtua Fighter 6.

We're living in a golden age of classic franchises making a return. Games like Turok: Origins and Onimusha: Way of the Sword are bringing back cult-classic series that most fans never would have expected to get an upcoming video game release. Now, we can add Virtua Fighter 6 to that list. This used to be one of the best fighting games alongside Street Fighter and Tekken, but it hasn't had a new entry in almost 20 years. It's time to practice your low punches again as we run through everything we know about Virtua Fighter 6.

We don't know if we can put this game on our lists of upcoming PS5 games, upcoming Xbox Series X games, upcoming PC games, or upcoming Switch games yet, but they are otherwise fully fleshed out for your convenience.
Release window speculation

Read more
Okami 2: everything we know so far
The Okami 2 wolf in a flowery field.

Capcom has been firing on all cylinders for the past couple of years. They've given us some of the best PS5 games already, plus it has Resident Evil 9 and Monster Hunter Wilds as upcoming video games to which we're looking forward. But there was one beloved series we never thought would make a comeback: Okami. This PlayStation 2 classic was a beautiful action-adventure game made by the now-defunct Clover Studio, whose former members went on to form PlatinumGames. However, not only has that studio been reborn as Clovers, but its first project is Okami 2, a direct sequel to the cult classic. Whether you've been waiting all these years for a sequel or this is your first time hearing about it, let's go over everything we know so far about Okami 2.

For a full accounting of upcoming PS5 games, upcoming Xbox Series X games, upcoming Switch games, and upcoming PC games, check out our dedicated lists.
Release speculation

Read more
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet: everything we know so far
The main image for Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.

When you look at the best PlayStation 5 games, or even a list of the best video games of all time, odds are you will see at least one game from developer Naughty Dog. Our list of upcoming video games was already stacked prior to The Game Awards 2024, but the last announcement of the night added one more to the list that might beat out other heavy hitters like Ghost of Yotei and Wolverine. As this is coming from Naughty Dog, this is already one of our most anticipated upcoming PS5 game, but others might need more convincing. We took out a bounty on all the information there is on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and this is what we came up with.

If you don't have a PS5, there are plenty of upcoming Xbox Series X, upcoming PC, and upcoming Switch games, too.
Release window speculation

Read more