Based on the first look at Far Cry 5, Ubisoft wants to shine a light on the dark side of America and won't pull punches when it comes to the themes in the game. As a result, a petition has emerged targeting the game.
Change.org Petition Against Ubisoft
A petition emerged on Change.org that calls for Ubisoft to change or cancel the open-world shooter for its depiction of Americans. Far Cry 5 is going to tackle issues of religious extremism and white supremacy, which are present throughout the trailer released last week.
These issues will be embodied by Eden's Gate, the cult that has taken over Hope County, Montana. Between Nazi-inspired symbols and rhetoric/beliefs similar to the Westboro Baptist Church, the game's influences are on full display in the trailer.
The petition, from author/authors called "Gamers United," claims that the game is an insult to Ubisoft's American fanbase.
"Enough is enough Ubisoft. We've sat through your multicultural lectures and your preachy games aimed at degenerates and miscegenators. We've tolerated it in the name of gameplay design and innovation. But no more! Far Cry 5 is an insult to your fanbase, the Americans who make up the majority of your customers, and it's time you woke up to that fact. Change this, or cancel it," the author states on the petition page.
It also includes a list of potential changes that Ubisoft could make to make this "realistic" or "appropriate" for America. The author suggests changing the villains based on extremist Islam or inner-city gangs, or including other races in the cult if Ubisoft insists on sticking with American Christians.
The plot could then be altered to make the villains seem more tragic by having them be victims of an invasive U.S. government. The last change, if Ubisoft doesn't do any of the former, is to move the game's setting to Canada for the U.S. market only while every other market can have it be set in the United States.
Reason Behind The Petition
The author explains the rest of their reasoning behind this petition, such as the "harassment" GamerGate resulted in from the press, rejection from a romantic partner after finding out they're a gamer, and the "cultural appropriation" of gamer culture by mainstream pop culture. But the real question is whether or not this is a joke?
On one hand, this could be a completely legitimate petition set up by someone. The political and cultural climate in the United States over the last few years has cultivated an environment of extremes on both the left and the right. The petition clearly skews more toward the latter, with wording that could easily be taken as hate speech. GamerGate is a good example since one of the issues at play during that was sexism in the games industry.
By the same token, the way it is written is so over the top that it's completely possible someone wrote this as a way to troll people.
Unfortunately, there is no way to tell right now whether or not this was a joke. As of May 30, the petition has more than 900 signatures on it, but its unlikely Ubisoft will bat an eye at the petition and will release the game it has worked on for the last few years. Far Cry 5 releases on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC Feb. 27, 2018.
