Ubisoft made waves with the recent reveal of Far Cry 5, which broke from the series’ tradition of exotic locales to take place in rural Montana, centered around a white, Christian cult that has taken up arms against the U.S. government. While many have praised this provocative setting and heretofore rarely addressed theme, for one group of disgruntled gamers, “enough is enough Ubisoft.”
A group calling themselves Gamers United has set up a Change.org petition directed at French developer Ubisoft to change elements of the game so that it is less didactic and anti-American: “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.”
Given that anyone can start a Change.org petition, there is the possibility that this is the work of trolls trying to rile people up. Some of the language quoted below verges on parody but like Gamergate, spawned from the endlessly ironic depths of 4chan, it is often difficult to tell the difference. To an extent, it may not matter, since hundreds of people have signed up and so it will be delivered to Ubisoft regardless.
The petitioners go on to cite the various injustices with which they are fed up, including “the targeted harassment by the mainstream press through Gamergate,” deceitful marketing practices, censorship, the dilution and appropriation of gamer culture on Twitter, and “the continued rejection of romantic partners when they find out our hobby.” In light of this sustained indignity, the petitioners have decided to take a stand, demanding that Ubisoft either cancel the game or alter it to be less offensive to them.
First among the suggested changes is to rewrite the villain “to something more realistic,” suggesting that Islam and “inner city gangs” are both on the rise in America. Barring that, they suggest at least making the cult’s membership more racially diverse, as everything we have seen so far depicts a purely white group. Showing that they are somewhat justified as “misguided patriots” responding “to oppressive over-government” would also go a long way “Their brutal physical and sexual violence towards their oppressors will then be explained as a reaction to harsh government policies and taxation, to show that both sides are wrong.” Lastly, they suggest simply altering the game’s setting to Canada for the American release. “We Americans have so few games to call our own,” the petition laments after its list of suggestions, “and we’re tired of losing them to multi-cultural bullshit.”
At the time of this writing, the petition has reached 593 supporters out of a goal of 1,000. Presumably, if their demands are not met, they will punish Ubisoft with boycotts, but the petition makes other, vague threats as well: “In these times, you must understand that there might be some violent repurcussions [sic] if you intend to follow through with your pointless criticism.”
We have reached out to Ubisoft for comment.
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