“On ‘Far Cry,’ anticipation is high, and we currently have two very promising projects in development,” he told Variety. So not much to go on, but with rumors about the extraction shooter project, reportedly codenamed Project Maverick, being in trouble, it seems to have survived the recent cancellation spree.

Of course, Far Cry is only one of the franchises that fall under Vantage Studios. Assassin’s Creed is another, with Guillemot assuring that “several titles are in development, spanning both single-player and multiplayer experiences, with the ambition to further grow a community that exceeded 30 million players last year.”

Thus far, we know that Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe is in development for an alleged 2027 release. The long-rumored remake of Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag could be revealed sometime in April despite allegedly being delayed to next year. Then there’s the ever-mysterious Invictus, which has yet to receive any details since its announcement (and apparently isn’t inspiring much enthusiasm among some of the development team).

Otherwise, it seems that the brand, which was overperforming per Ubisoft’s fiscal report, hasn’t escaped the cancellation curse. A co-op project called League, allegedly meant for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, was reportedly cancelled. After that, reports emerged of a mobile title known as Assassin’s Creed Singularity that had been cancelled after a “couple of years” of work.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows continues to receive updates, the latest adding a manual jump feature and detailed stats sheets. But while Claws of Awaji is coming to Switch 2 on March 10th, you shouldn’t expect another expansion this year on the same scale.

Production of the Far Cry TV show will be handled by Mac’s own production banner – More Better Productions – and will also involve Noah Hawley working through his own production banner – 26 Keys. Hawley is known for his work with shows on like Fargo and Alien: Earth. Along with serving as an executive producer, Mac will also be one of the actors starring in the Far Cry series.

“Getting to work alongside Noah Hawley is a dream realized,” said Mac in the press release. “Ubisoft has been remarkably generous, entrusting us with one of the most iconic video-game worlds ever created. And through it all, my FX family continues to lift me up with their constant belief and support.”

While not too many details about the show have been revealed yet, the press release has confirmed that, much like the Far Cry games themselves, the TV show will also be an anthology series. This means that each season of the show will tell an entirely new story, complete with new characters. In his own statement, Hawley also spoke about his experience in working on anthology series in the past, and how it has been a dream for him to work on an adaptation of Far Cry.

“What I love about the Far Cry game franchise is it’s an anthology. Each game is a variation of a theme, the same way each season of Fargo is a variation on a theme,” said Hawley. “To create a big action show that can change from year to year, while always exploring the nature of humanity through this complex and chaotic lens is a dream come true. I’m excited to partner with Rob and bring our shared irreverent, ambitious sensibility to the screen.”

In a statement, FX Entertainment president Nick Grade spoke about his past experience of working with Mac and Hawley across six different series that have spanned 32 seasons. His statement also indicated that FX Entertainment will have quite a bit of control over the creative aspects of the show, since he thanks Ubisoft for its trust in the matter.

“FX has had magnificent partnerships with Rob Mac and Noah Hawley for a combined six series and 32 seasons of television, and we couldn’t be more excited that they are teaming up for Far Cry,” said Grad. “I have no doubt that they will tell this story in a way that is original, gripping and wildly entertaining. We also want to thank our partners at Ubisoft for entrusting us with this beloved property.”

Along with Mac and Hawley, production of the Far Cry series will also involve Emilia Serrano of 26 Keys, Nick Frenkel of 3 Arts, Jackie Cohn of More Better Productions, and John Campisi, Gerard Guillemot, Margaret Boykin and Austin Dill of Ubisoft Film & Television.

Among the responsibilities of Vantage Studios will be to “take on development and expansion of these brands, building on the foundation of Ubisoft’s experience and expertise, sharing services and technical resources, all while giving developers more hands-on control over the games they are building.”

Vantage Studios will be headed up by Charlie Guillemot – the son of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot – and Christophe Derennes in the roles of co-CEOs. Its employees will be comprised of a number of developers from across Ubisoft’s various development studios in Montréal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona, and Sofia.

“Vantage Studios represents a first step in Ubisoft’s ongoing transformation, with plans to set up additional creative houses and group its brands and franchises under the banner of a shared DNA and development expertise,” wrote the company in its announcement. “The goal of Vantage Studios, and future creative houses, is to facilitate stronger and deeper connections between developers and players.”

Vantage Studios was first announced earlier this year, with reports indicating that it would be a joint venture between Ubisoft and Tencent. A report from back in May indicated that the studio’s primary purpose would be to develop single-player games and narrative-driven experiences, as well as expand on live-service offerings that Ubisoft already has by focusing on more frequent content updates.

“To support this vision, the Company is currently working on reshaping its operating model with the objective to better meet player needs, deliver superior game quality and drive disciplined capital allocation,” wrote the company. “Management targets to announce the new organization by the end of the year.”

Ubisoft had noted that the studio – at the time only referred to as an unnamed subsidiary – was being created with the vision of reshaping the overall operating model of the company in order to better hit its targets in terms of game quality and capital allocation. The subsidiary was founded with a €1.16 billion investment by Tencent, which also gave the company a 25 percent economic interest in it.

“With this transaction, Tencent will invest €1.16bn in a primary issuance by the New Subsidiary, acquiring an approximate 25% economic interest,” explained Ubisoft. “At closing, at least €500m will be upstreamed to Ubisoft, ensuring sufficient working capital needs of the New Subsidiary at start.”

As for Yves Guillemot’s son taking on the role of co-CEO at Vantage Studios, questions had already risen back in July when the was first announced for the position. In an interview, Charlie Guillemot spoke about how, while he is Yves’ son, his appointment to the role wasn’t a case of nepotism.

“I’ve spent the last decade building experience both inside and outside Ubisoft, leading teams, managing brands, and navigating change in a fast-moving industry,” he explained. “I also made the conscious choice to step away when it made sense, to learn and grow elsewhere.”

In the interview, Guillemot spoke about his experience working at Ubisoft as well as other companies where he has led teams and managed brands successfully. “Yes, I’m Yves’ son,” he explained. “That’s not something I hide from. But my appointment isn’t only about family ties; it’s about what Ubisoft needs at this moment.”

“I’ve spent the last decade building experience both inside and outside Ubisoft, leading teams, managing brands, and navigating change in a fast-moving industry. I also made the conscious choice to step away when it made sense, to learn and grow elsewhere.”

Guillemot went on to speak about some of the plans for the future of Ubisoft as a whole. With the subsidiary being focused on single-player story-based games as well as live-service multiplayer titles and even mobile games, Guillemot noted that he has his work cut out for him when it comes to growing the new company.

“What matters now isn’t my name, it’s the work ahead,” Guillemot added. “Ubisoft is at a pivotal moment. What’s expected of me is to help push the company forward by bringing energy, focus, and by relying on the incredible expertise that already exists across the teams. I see myself as someone here to contribute, support, and help create the right conditions are in place for everyone to do their best work.”

“And beyond that, this industry is where I want to be. There’s nowhere quite like it, where creativity, talent, and technology intersect in such dynamic ways, and where you constantly have to adapt to new platforms, new ideas, new expectations from players. That’s what draws me in.”

The subsidiary was founded as part of a €1.16 billion between Ubisoft and Tencent, and was officially announced all the way back in March. The fact that it would be focusing on single-player and live-service multiplayer games was revealed in its earnings report from May. As part of the deal between Ubisoft and Tencent, the former will maintain ownership of its major IP, including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six, while Tencent will own a 25 percent minority interest in the subsidiary.

“With this transaction, Tencent will invest €1.16bn in a primary issuance by the New Subsidiary, acquiring an approximate 25% economic interest,” explained the company during its earnings report in May. “At closing, at least €500m will be upstreamed to Ubisoft, ensuring sufficient working capital needs of the New Subsidiary at start.”

As for the subsidiary itself, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot had said that it was created to allow the whole company to remain agile while also having high ambitions. He also spoke about wanting to grow its bigger brands while also creating new IPs.

As part of this initiative, the subsidiary will focus on improving the quality of single-player, narrative driven experiences, expanding on live-service offerings from Ubisoft focusing on frequent content updates and multiplayer, and break into the mobile market, as well as international markets like China.

In the earnings report, Ubisoft also stated that its initiative to reshape the organisation and create the subsidiary alongside Tencent came about as a way to continue on its focus of creating and supporting open-world games as well as live-service titles. The subsidiary was created after a “thorough review of its pipeline” from October to December. This structural reshaping has, according to the report, had a hand in the high quality of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. More details about how this will affect Ubisoft going forward will be revealed later in the year.

“To support this vision, the Company is currently working on reshaping its operating model with the objective to better meet player needs, deliver superior game quality and drive disciplined capital allocation,” wrote the company. “Management targets to announce the new organization by the end of the year.”

As for Ubisoft’s deal with Tencent, the earnings report reiterates the fact that the nature of the deal means that Ubisoft still maintains ownership of its major IPs: Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six. As part of the deal, Tencent’s stake in the new subsidiary is valued at an investment of €1.16 billion, which gets it a 25 percent minority interest.

“With this transaction, Tencent will invest €1.16bn in a primary issuance by the New Subsidiary, acquiring an approximate 25% economic interest,” explained the company. “At closing, at least €500m will be upstreamed to Ubisoft, ensuring sufficient working capital needs of the New Subsidiary at start.”

Ubisoft had announced its new subsidiary alongside Tencent back in March. During the announcement, the company emphasised that it would maintain an exclusive, irrevocable and perpetual license over the aforementioned IPs, while Ubisoft as the parent company will continue to get royalties.

“Today Ubisoft is opening a new chapter in its history,” said Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot when the subsidiary was first announced. “As we accelerate the company’s transformation, this is a foundational step in changing Ubisoft’s operating model that will enable us to be both agile and ambitious. We are focused on building strong game ecosystems designed to become evergreen, growing high-performing brands and creating new IPs powered by cutting-edge and emerging technologies.

The company’s most recent release was Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which it has described as having “clearly” surpassed its predecessors, Odyssey and Valhalla, in terms of player numbers. The game is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Check out our review for more details.

Ubisoft is establishing a new subsidiary headquartered in France that will receive a €1.16 billion investment from Tencent in exchange of a 25 percent minority stake. The new subsidiary, which hasn’t yet been given a name, will oversee, manage, and drive Ubisoft’s three biggest properties- Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six.

The subsidiary will have a “a worldwide, exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual” license over those three properties, including all games that have released and all that will in the future, with parent company Ubisoft continuing to receive royalties. Under a dedicated leadership team and board of directors, the subsidiary will, according to Ubisoft, “make swift, high-impact decisions across development, marketing, and distribution, to ensure these brands continue to evolve, attract new audiences, and deliver groundbreaking gaming experiences for years to come.”

The company says its new subsidiary will “focus on building game ecosystems designed to become truly evergreen and multi-platform”, and thanks to “greater investment and boosted creative capacities”, will be enabled to “drive further increases in quality of narrative solo experiences, expand multiplayer offerings with increased frequency of content release, [and] introduce free-to-play touchpoints.”

“Today Ubisoft is opening a new chapter in its history,” says Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. “As we accelerate the company’s transformation, this is a foundational step in changing Ubisoft’s operating model that will enable us to be both agile and ambitious. We are focused on building strong game ecosystems designed to become evergreen, growing high-performing brands and creating new IPs powered by cutting-edge and emerging technologies.

“With the creation of a dedicated subsidiary that will spearhead development for three of our largest franchises and the onboarding of Tencent as a minority investor, we are crystalizing the value of our assets, strengthening our balance sheet, and creating the best conditions for these franchises’ long-term growth and success. With its dedicated and autonomous leadership team, it will focus on transforming these three brands into unique ecosystems.

“We are committed to building a sharper, more focused organization-one where talented teams will take our brands to the next level, accelerate the growth of emerging franchises, and lead innovation in next-generation technologies and services, all with the goal of delivering enriching, memorable games that exceed players’ expectations, and create superior value for our shareholders and other stakeholders.”

“We are excited to extend our longstanding partnership with Ubisoft through this investment, which reflects our continued confidence in Ubisoft’s creative vision and exceptional talent to drive sustained success in the industry,” says Tencent president Martin Lau. “We see the immense potential for these franchises to evolve into long-term evergreen game platforms and create engaging new experiences for gamers.”

Ubisoft itself will continue to oversee and manage other properties that it owns, including Ghost Recon, The Division, Rayman, and others. The company will also continue working on new IP and “delivering state-of-the-art production game engines and online services.”

Ubisoft says this deal will be finalized by the end of 2025, and that it will reveal further details on the new subsidiary and how it (and Ubisoft itself) will operate going forward at a later date, so stay tuned.

As past reports have claimed, Ubisoft Montreal has two titles in the works in the form of Far Cry 7 (under the codename Blackbird) and and a standalone extraction shooter spinoff (under the codename Maverick), with the latter being set in the Alaskan wilderness, and the former being structured around a real-time 24-hour time limit within which the protagonist has to rescue their family from a dangerous conspiracy theory cult.

Now, Henderson has offered yet more potential details, claiming that both titles are being designed to intentionally move away from what’s been the established Far Cry formula for years. On the moment-to-moment gameplay front, both titles will also feature new and enhanced movement options, including tactical sprinting, vaulting, sliding, and more. Both games will also feature new inventory and loot systems.

Past leaks had claimed that Far Cry 7 and Maverick would both be releasing in Fall 2025, but Henderson now claims that due to the complexities of their development, both titles have now been pushed back into 2026. Allegedly, the developers working on the project are optimistic about how Far Cry 7 is shaping up, though there is more internal skepticism surrounding Maverick, with some concerned about whether it will be another in a long list of failed Ubisoft titles that tried to chase trends, similar to XDefiant.

As auspicious as it may seem, the publisher won’t announce any new games or even upcoming content during the same. There will be Twitch Drops, alongside anecdotes and stories on previous titles, which may be worth tuning into for hardcore fans.

Despite the lack of official announcements, however, rumors have circulated about not one but two new Far Cry titles. The first is allegedly an extraction shooter set in Alashnica, a fictional version of Alaska, with players scrounging for resources and crafting new gear and gadgets (with dying causing progress to be lost).

It’s reportedly arriving before the next mainline entry in the series, Project Blackbird, i.e. Far Cry 7. Developed on the Snowdrop Engine, it’s allegedly out in Fall 2025, and also coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on day one. The story is reportedly nonlinear, as players rescue family members from a conspiracy group.

There is a time limit, though, and by using a new interrogation mechanic, players can extract info from enemies (if they don’t end up lying). Stay tuned for potential announcements for both titles in the coming months.

https://twitter.com/FarCrygame/status/1768321198725706104

We won’t be announcing any new game or incoming content, but we will have great stories to share on our previous game productions, fun anecdotes, and Twitch Drops.
See you there!

— Far Cry (@FarCrygame) March 14, 2024

As spotted by Game Rant, PEGI has rated an unannounced Ubisoft title in the form of Captain Laserhawk Niji Warrior. If the name is anything to go by, the game will be based on Netflix’s animated series Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, which itself is inspired by Far Cry 3’s 2013 offshoot, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.

As per the PEGI rating, Captain Laserhawk Niji Warrior is going to be a multiplayer game where players will take part in “laser deathmatches” and “compete to eliminate the most opponents”. Seemingly, it will also adopt the stylized look of the animated series, with the rating describing characters’ reactions to being shot as “unrealistic, with characters breaking into parts when hit”.

The rating also mentions that the game will make use of microtransactions and allow players to purchase in-game items, such as cosmetics.

Leaks have claimed that Ubisoft has two Far Cry titles in the works – Far Cry 7 and a multiplayer extraction shooter – both of which are allegedly targeting 2025 releases.

In August last year, Ubisoft announced that it had appointed Far Cry Primal and Far Cry 5 narrative lead as the series’ new IP director.

As spotted by VGC, Far Cry has found a new IP Director in veteran writer and narrative designer Drew Holmes. Holmes, who was previously the narrative lead on Far Cry Primal and Far Cry 5, confirmed the news on his LinkedIn page, writing in a post, “It’s been an exciting few months… I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as IP Director of Far Cry at Ubisoft! We have big things in store. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to be a part of the next evolution of this great brand!”

Prior to his work at Ubisoft, Holmes was also worked at Irrational Games, where he was the lead writer on BioShock Infinite. Prior to that, he was a writer at Volition, where he worked on the original three Saints Row titles.

Coming to Far Cry, it remains to be seen what the “big things in store” are that Holmes is referring to. That said, though Ubisoft has yet to make any official announcements, leaks have claimed that Far Cry 7 and a standalone Far Cry multiplayer game are both currently in development, with both targeting a Fall 2025 launch.