A Big Game Set in Big Sky Country – Will Far Cry 5 Increase Montana Tourism?
The Montana Department of Commerce is eager to get Montana in movies, but for the first time ever, the state will be the backdrop of the newest entry in a major video game franchise. Daniel Iverson from the Montana Department of Commerce says development teams from Ubisoft came to the Poplar area to film for the upcoming release of Far Cry 5.
"We've never quite experienced something like this before," Iverson said. "Certainly, there have been plenty of movies that have filmed here, or been set here, but this is the first time to our knowledge that Montana has been featured to such a degree in a video game. We are hoping that it is inspirational and, from what we've seen so far it looks like they've done a really good job."
Far Cry 5 will take place in fictional Hope County, Montana where the player will have to come to terms with a violent religious cult. The game is a first-person shooter, which will also feature Montana activities like hunting and fishing.
"It's the first time that Far Cry has been set in the United States," Iverson said. "It usually takes place in these kind of exotic foreign locations, but it often tells the story about a hostile takeover of an area and the player plays the role of someone fighting a resistance against it... so that's a similar scenario for this new one."
Iverson hopes the game encourages more Montana tourism, but is unsure what the impact will be. Ubisoft hired three Montanans during the photo shoot in Polar and pumped about $20,000 into the local economy. The expected release date for the game is February 25, 2018.