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A curious Change.org petition titled “Cancel Far Cry 5” has been making the rounds today, and wide swaths of big gaming websites have totally bought into the trolling attempt – hook, line, and sinker.
The petition is a letter from an anonymous person (probably coming from this old 4chan thread) demanding that Ubisoft change the game, pointing to its use of midwestern, white American extremists as the primary antagonists. Originally, the petition asked for 500 signatures, now they’re close to a new goal of 1,000 signatures.
If the other gaming “journalists” had actually read the petition, they’re realize how downright hilarious it is both in nature and in how many issues there are within. Here’s the beginning of the petition:
“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.”
Right, somehow people having interracial relationships is Ubisoft’s problem. You could also make an argument here for how well the “gameplay design and innovation” are within the series, but let’s move along.
“Change the villains. It’s not so hard, really. Just change the villains to something more realistic. Islam is on the rise in America, as is the violence of inner city gangs. Are you scared to do so? In the words of Boltair – “To learn who rules you, simply find out who’s not being criticized.”
I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of a philosopher named “Boltair.” To go even further, it’s not even 100% agreed upon that that quote came from Voltaire.
The next part is quite hilarious:
“Even if you insist on making the villains American Christians, consider mixing the races a bit to not target white people exclusively. There are plenty of nationalists of every stripe and every race and creed. So throw in some blacks and Mexicans. There’s no reason a protectonist nationalist movement would all be one race?”
Here’s the problem – Ubisoft isn’t going to cancel the game nor are they going to change it entirely for what is clearly a silly trolling attempt. To make a point, the company released new key artwork for the game (featured above), showing a black character that is part of the presumably bigoted white troupe of villains.
The petition even asked for the game to be written a certain way, so that it follows the “sympathize with the villains” trope:
“Have the villains simply be misguided patriots forced into making their own nation vs. the will of an oppressive over-government, construed of all the people they turn their wrath against in their immediate surroundings. 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.”
Is this getting ridiculous enough for you? The ending is even better, where the author even suggests the game’s setting be moved to Canada, because apparently we can’t criticize our own country or culture:
“Change the setting, but only for certain markets. Look, I get that anti-Americanism plays in France, and I’m not telling you to give up on potential profits due to complaints. Wouldn’t want to be thought as one of those hypocrite feminists, right? But for America, right now, Anti-Americanism is out. You gotta play your market. Change the setting to Canada for America.”
I rest my case – there is no way this should be taken seriously at all, as it is clearly a veiled trolling attempt that was gobbled up by the mainstream gaming press in a bid for – you guessed it, more clicks.
Far Cry 5 launches February 27th of next year across PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. In case you missed it, you can view the debut trailer and details for the game here in our previous report.
