Far Cry 6's goading marketing email raises eyebrows among fans

Ubisoft is emailing Far Cry 6 owners with a roundup of their playtime so far - prompting a mixed response from some fans.

The email, written in the style of the game's villain El Presidente, is essentially a message meant to goad player character Dani Rojas back into action.

"Hola, Rojas. I wanted to thank you for giving me free rein in Yara," the email teases. "Take it easy, and know that Yara is in capable hands." The email goes on to question: "Surely you can do better than this," before listing a set of custom player stats such as time played and total kills.

The email gathered visibility yesterday afternoon after being posted to Twitter by GamesIndustry.biz managing editor Brendan Sinclair. The message's tone, coupled with a play count of just three hours, gave the appearance that Ubisoft was singling out someone for abandoning the game quickly.

A lot of games are already ruthlessly designed to maximize engagement, but now they email and hassle you if you dare to stop playing them. pic.twitter.com/TRIsV4jnZP

But as more people posted their own emails, it became clear that playtime was not the sole cause. Players with dozens and dozens of hours under their belt were still getting messages. Some found it amusing - others less so.

I've not played Far Cry 6 myself, but have had similar emails featuring play stats in the past for various other Ubisoft games, including Assassin's Creed. Were these sparked by me putting the game down for a couple weeks? It's hard to tell.

But the blanket mailout here, seemingly regardless of playtime, makes this seem less targeted than it initially appeared - even if it is tied to players not having logged in for a week or so.

"The emails sent to Far Cry 6 players are intended to be a fun and clever way to remind folks to come back to Yara and are written as if from El Presidente himself," a Ubisoft spokesperson told Eurogamer this afternoon. "We've heard from the community and we've shared their concern with El Presidente. And know that Chorizo does miss you dearly."

"It's not quite the revolution, but a solid entry all the same," our Ian wrote in Eurogamer's Far Cry 6 review. "There's plenty that's familiar about the latest entry in Ubisoft's open world shooter, but that doesn't stop it being a blast."

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