Now that Far Cry 6 is finally available to the public as of last week, it looks like Ubisoft is already starting to look to the future of the franchise. According to a few sources, it seems like the next game in the series might drop some of the single-player story elements in favor of a more online experience.
Stephen Totilo, former editor-in-chief at Kotaku and current gaming reporter for Axios, wrote in a recent article that following the release of Far Cry 6, Ubisoft seems to know that "a shake-up is needed." He goes on to write that a source of his own told him that Far Cry 7 would be "exploring a more online-oriented approach."
This seems to be in line with Ubisoft's current approach to its other series which are mostly moving into the "live service game" direction. Traditionally single-player franchises like Assassin's Creed look to be dropping their biyearly releases in favor of one large game that will receive seasonal updates more in line with something like Grand Theft Auto Online or Sea of Thieves.
What's more, there looks to be something included in Far Cry 6 itself to potentially corroborate the "online-oriented" claim. There are plenty of QR codes to scan in the game and one of them seems to suggest that a more in-depth multiplayer mode is coming. Far Cry has featured co-op multiplayer in several of its entries including 6, but the teaser suggests that there will be more than the usual two players involved with whatever is coming next.
Some think that the teaser indicates that a Far Cry battle royale mode is coming using Far Cry 6's engine, but there isn't enough in the brief video to know for certain yet. If it is a battle royale, the teaser already features an element that could set Far Cry apart from the many other battle royales on the market: its dangerous animal encounters. While games like Fortnite have included hostile animals in recent seasons, the varied exotic wildlife that's featured in the Far Cry series is one of the franchise's staples and would certainly be unique.
There's no way to know what's coming for certain until Ubisoft makes an official announcement, but Totilo's report paired with the QR code teaser make a solid case that more Far Cry multiplayer is coming. What's more, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier said on his podcast Triple Click in June that the next title might be going in a "radically different direction."
Far Cry 6 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Axios, Triple Click