Wild Arena Survivors was almost a new Far Cry title, but Ubisoft had other plans

Ubisoft’s 40-player battle royale title Wild Arena Survivors, which was released last week, was almost an entirely different game in another franchise.

The title was originally meant to be a Far Cry game, one of Ubisoft’s more prominent series, with Wild Arena Survivors setting clearly following a similar trajectory to Far Cry 6’s Cuban-esque environments.

Wild Arena Survivors, developed by Ubisof’s mobile division in Paris, was originally named Far Cry: Wild Call. Survivors features wildlife and terrain reminiscent of the Far Cry series, and animals that can be a deadly disadvantage or can be used to the players’ advantage, similar to the well-known, award-winning title.

Ubisoft released a trailer on Aug. 31, with little to no traction. The video has only accrued (at the time of publishing) just over 30,000 views on the main Ubisoft YouTube channel.

The original title was put into a soft launch, without the well-known Far Cry branding. This test failed to gain enough attention, causing the game to be rebranded as Wild Arena Survivors.

It was then quietly released in order to recoup development costs.

Ubisoft has a track record of quiet releases. Clash of Beasts: Tower Defense was another Ubisoft mobile-game title that had a discrete reveal in January this year.

Wild Arena Survivors implements building elements into a large-scale battle royale, featuring some of Far Cry’s most enjoyable aspects, all within a mobile game. The title was released in January this year in all countries except Japan, Korea, and China.

Hopefully, the next Far Cry title won’t suffer the same fate.