A new report says Ubisoft has cancelled Far Cry Maverick, an extraction shooter, while a separate ambitious open world FPS codenamed Kodiak has entered development.
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Ubisoft’s reported Far Cry pivot leaves one shooter behind and another moving forward
The most concrete development in the latest Far Cry rumor is also the cleanest read on Ubisoft’s direction: Insider Gaming reports that a new Far Cry game codenamed Kodiak has passed its conceptualization stage and entered development at Vantage Studios, while the previously reported extraction shooter codenamed Maverick has been cancelled.
Ubisoft has not announced Kodiak, confirmed Maverick’s cancellation, revealed Far Cry 7, or provided platforms, price, release windows, trailers, store pages, or technical details for any of these projects. Everything around the codenames comes from reporting, primarily Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson, with Push Square, VICE, DualShockers, CGMagazine, and others relaying and contextualizing those claims.
That distinction matters because this is not a normal reveal cycle. There is no Ubisoft blog post to parse, no Steam listing to inspect, and no rating-board filing suggesting a locked release plan. What the report does suggest is a shift in the shape of the Far Cry pipeline: one open world FPS project, Kodiak, is now moving out of concept, while Blackbird, described by Insider Gaming as the next mainline Far Cry game, remains separate and reportedly farther along despite internal delays.
Maverick was the risky genre bet, and Kodiak is reportedly being built from its remains
According to Insider Gaming, Maverick was an extraction shooter tied to the Far Cry universe and has now been cancelled. The same report says Kodiak is being built on Maverick’s foundations, but that it is described instead as an open world FPS where “player interactions and player-driven stories take center stage.” Sources cited by Insider Gaming reportedly described Kodiak as “really ambitious” and several years away from release.
DualShockers adds useful context from earlier reporting around Maverick: the project had been circulating since 2023 and was understood as an extraction-based shooter set in the Alaskan wilderness, with players surviving harsh weather, wildlife, and each other. VICE notes that some earlier leaks had been interpreted as Far Cry 7 being the Alaska extraction game, while Henderson’s newer reporting frames Maverick as a separate spinoff rather than the next mainline entry.
That creates a clean but still unofficial distinction. Blackbird is the reported mainline track, often treated as the next Far Cry game or Far Cry 7 in coverage. Maverick was the extraction experiment. Kodiak is the reported new open world project that inherits some work from Maverick without keeping the extraction premise. Until Ubisoft confirms the structure, those labels remain reporting shorthand rather than public product names.
Dropping extraction could steer Far Cry back toward the series’ best FPS instincts
From a shooter design angle, the reported move away from extraction makes sense if Ubisoft wants Far Cry to feel like Far Cry again. Extraction shooters live and die on persistent risk, loot value, match pacing, server stability, PvPvE readability, and a brutal onboarding curve. That is a very different competitive problem from Far Cry’s traditional loop of scouting an outpost, improvising an approach, setting off chaos, and letting weapons, wildlife, fire, vehicles, and AI systems collide.
The source material does not say Kodiak will resemble Far Cry 3, Far Cry 5, Far Cry 6, or any other specific entry. It also does not say whether Kodiak is single-player, co-op, always-online, session-based, or live service. The reported phrases “player interactions” and “player-driven stories” are broad enough to cover many designs, from co-op emergent chaos to social open world systems. As reporting, they point to ambition. As buyer guidance, they are too vague to judge.
Still, if Insider Gaming’s report is accurate, dropping the extraction label removes one obvious pressure point. Far Cry does not need to chase Tarkov-style tension or compete with every studio that spent the last few years trying to graft extraction mechanics onto existing brands. Its sharper lane is open world FPS pacing: strong encounter layouts, readable enemy behavior, punchy weapons, meaningful traversal, and systems that produce ridiculous stories without needing a lobby full of sweaty players to supply the drama.
Blackbird still appears to be the next Far Cry to watch
The report does not position Kodiak as the next Far Cry release. Insider Gaming says Blackbird, described as the next mainline Far Cry game, has faced development hurdles and repeated internal delays, but is now seemingly on a better path. Push Square similarly interprets Blackbird as the project likely to arrive before Kodiak, while noting that Kodiak is believed to be several years away.
Insider Gaming also reports that Blackbird will have a multiplayer component where more than one player can experience the world together. That is an important distinction from calling it an extraction shooter. Co-op in an open world Far Cry context raises different questions: mission scaling, host progression, enemy density, vehicle handling, revive rules, and whether gunfights hold up when two players are deleting outposts faster than the AI can react.
The same Insider Gaming report cites an internal Vantage Studios interview in which Charlie Guillemot allegedly described Blackbird as “honestly impressive” and as “Act One,” language the outlet interprets as suggesting Ubisoft may be planning several mainline Far Cry games with related concepts if Blackbird lands well. That is a reported internal characterization, not an announced roadmap. Readers should treat it as a sign of possible internal ambition, not a promise of future releases.
Vantage Studios gives the rumor a bigger business backdrop
The Far Cry open world rumor lands during a period when Ubisoft’s internal structure is under scrutiny. DualShockers reports that Ubisoft announced a January restructuring into five “Creative Houses” and said it would focus on major franchises including Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell, The Division, and Far Cry. Insider Gaming places Kodiak at Vantage Studios, and DualShockers identifies Vantage Studios as the group handling Far Cry projects including Blackbird and Kodiak.
That backdrop changes the read on Maverick’s reported cancellation. If Ubisoft is organizing around its biggest brands, then an extraction shooter spinoff had to prove it could expand Far Cry without diluting the franchise. The extraction space is technically demanding and commercially crowded, and a Far Cry version would need to solve identity problems immediately. Does it reward stealth or loot hoarding? Does it emphasize survival against weather and wildlife or player-versus-player firefights? Does it preserve the series’ chaos or restrain it for competitive fairness?
Kodiak, as described, sounds like a safer brand alignment even if it remains ambitious in execution. Open world FPS design is the franchise’s established home turf. The risk shifts away from genre mismatch and toward delivery: can Ubisoft make a large Far Cry world feel reactive enough for “player-driven stories” to mean something, and can it do that without turning every encounter into the same outpost-clear loop players have already mastered?
For players, the practical answer is to wait for Ubisoft before getting attached
There is no release date for Kodiak in the provided reporting. Insider Gaming says it is several years away. There are no announced platforms, editions, pricing, PC requirements, console performance targets, cross-play plans, or subscription details. There is also no official confirmation that Kodiak will keep Alaska, survival systems, PvPvE ideas, or any other element previously associated with Maverick.
For the next Far Cry game, Blackbird is the name to watch in further reporting. If Ubisoft reveals a mainline entry first, that would line up with Push Square’s and Insider Gaming’s read that Blackbird is ahead of Kodiak. If Ubisoft discusses co-op or multiplayer, the key detail will be whether that multiplayer supports the open world campaign or points to a broader service structure.
The cautious takeaway is simple: the Ubisoft Far Cry extraction shooter cancelled story appears, through Insider Gaming’s reporting, to be less about Far Cry disappearing and more about Ubisoft abandoning a genre experiment while keeping the series active through Blackbird and the newly reported Kodiak. For players tired of trend-chasing shooters, that is potentially encouraging. For anyone waiting on the next Far Cry game, it is still a rumor stack until Ubisoft puts a name, footage, and a date on the table.