Far Cry 4 hoping to avoid PETA controversy, says dev

Far Cry 4 is hoping to avoid controversy from PETA as players in the game aren't forced to kill animals, according to creative director Alex Hutchinson.

The Far Cry series famously allows players to maim all sorts of wildlife, either for fun or to skin and craft new items and equipment.

However Hutchinson said slaughtering animals was part of player choice, and they've even taken out rewards for killing elephants in the newest game.

"I hope PETA are hopefully aware it's a game and not a documentary so I think we're safe on that front," Hutchinson told ArabicGamers.

"Yes, there're upgrade paths to do with the animals. But there're very few times when you're forced in the game to hunt an animal or kill an animal, so I think it's in there as a sort of player expression, how much you want to do it or which animals you might spare.

"Elephants for example, there's no reward for killing an elephant in Far Cry 4, that was one we decided just doesn't feel right."

Hutchinson went on to say that people should be able to make the distinction between video game and real life when it comes to these issues.

"For us there's a really clear line between fiction and reality in this one," he added.

"For me, I do all kinds of horrible things in games I would never do in real life. So that bit we don't worry about too much."

We discussed much more with Hutchinson during a recent interview, including his opinion on video game villains lacking power and diversity being an important topic in the industry. 

We'll be bringing you a video of the full interview very soon. Far Cry 4 launches 18 November.