Modders: do your thing
Studios and publishers would generally agree that video games having their source code leaked is a pretty bad thing. But what if it’s an old game that people probably aren’t buying these days anyway? That’s the case for the original Far Cry from 2004, whose source code cropped up online recently.
The story emerged after Twitter user and Duke Nukem modder Vinícius Medeiros posted a bunch of screenshots showing the complete code for the first Far Cry game. When asked by another user, a link to archive.org was then posted, leading to a download page for anyone interested in checking it out. The files were uploaded by user Llaetha.ro in June and are said to be 1.34 version of the game.
Out of nowhere, the full source code of Far Cry 1 just dropped on the Internet Archive pic.twitter.com/agRMPHLT6o
— Vinícius Medeiros (@VinciusMedeiro6) June 30, 2023
Many will assume that this will lead to a lot of fan-made Far Cry mods. However, according to Vinícius Medeiros, the original game itself was already moddable thanks to an official level editor. The release of the full source code could, instead, lead to modifications and/or fixes to the game engine itself. But we’ll have to wait and see what people can come up with.
Does that mean it can easily be modded ?
— Oskan (@OwOskan) July 1, 2023
Don’t Cry over spilled Fars
Approaching its 20th year, Far Cry was built on the original version of the CryEngine by CryTek. The engine itself was a marvel of video game technology at the time, particularly when the second iteration was released, which was used in the development of 2007’s Crysis. The game was a visual feast, showing not only the power of the CryEngine, but also giving PC players a benchmark to test their new hardware on.
As for the Far Cry series itself, there were whispers earlier this year that Ubisoft may be working on a seventh installment. We can’t say for certain yet, but given how lucrative the franchise is for the studio, a new entry is probably on the cards.
At the time of writing, there’s been no word from Ubisoft on Far Cry 1‘s source code being leaked. We know how militant these companies can be when it comes to protecting their IPs. For now, it’s likely that some interesting modifications to the game’s very core could be inbound.
