End Of Days

How Ubisoft Montreal is bringing rural Montana to life, and creating a sinister apocalyptic cult, in Far Cry 5.

- Andy Kelly

When you think of Far Cry, your mind is filled with images of faraway jungles, misty mountains and exotic tropical paradises. Which makes Ubisoft Montreal’s decision to set the fifth game in, of all places, rural Montana a peculiar one. But, surprisingly, it totally works. The rocky mountains, rolling grass plains and shimmering lakes of the Treasure State are every bit as intimidating, vast and beautiful as Kyrat or the Rook Islands.

“Far Cry has typically been an odyssey that takes you to distant shores,” says Dan Hay, creative director of Far Cry 5 (and who was also executive producer on Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 4). “You’re away from home, the rules are different and you feel disconnected from your regular life. So bringing the series to a place like this was a significant challenge for us. It’s fun going on an adventure away from home and having that feeling of coming back. But the stories happening right in people’s backyards can be interesting, too.”

The Father, leader of the Eden’s Gate cult, chose Montana because it’s isolated, rugged, and remote. “But it’s beautiful, too,” says Hay. “We picked a place where the people are self-reliant and resourceful. We wanted your experience to feel vaguely familiar, but where the rules you’re used to have been twisted. It feels real, it feels like you know it. It feels like a place you might have been to, with people you might have met. And then we twist that.”