Details About Far Cry 4 Coming "Soon", Says Ubisoft

In an interview with Gamespot, Ubisoft's senior vice president of marketing and sales Tony Key revealed that a sequel to Far Cry 3 is on the cards. Talking about the commercial and critical success of Far Cry 3, he said:

"We're totally psyched from [Far Cry 3]. It's a great brand, and now it's got the recognition it deserves, so we're clearly going to make another one: more on that soon".

He also had a few words to say about open world games, claiming that consumers want more open world experiences. 

"I think open world can represent the future of, you know, gaming, and that’s where we’re investing huge portions of our resources--because we believe that that is what consumers want", he said, adding "they don't want linear; they want open [world]". However, he admitted that "there's always going to be a place for linear experiences".

Far Cry 3 was at its best when experienced as an open world game, away from some of its more scripted story missions, so a sequel with an even greater focus on open world exploration would certainly be welcome. Having said that, this news comes very soon after the release of Far Cry 3, and what I don't want to see is Ubisoft give Far Cry an Assassin's Creed style release schedule, where mediocre sequels are churned out on a regular basis. I want Ubisoft to take the time to create a fantastic new entry in the Far Cry franchise that genuinely moves the series forward. I would rather wait 4 years for a great game than 1 year for an elaborate expansion pack disguised as a full priced release.

Regardless of when Ubisoft decides to release Far Cry 4, it will be interesting to see the kind of details that will emerge about it. Will it carry the same premise and setting as Far Cry 3, or will it take the series in a different direction? We will just have to wait and see.