I've had many, many conversations with Dan Hay over the years. Some on camera, some via audio recording, and many more in regular human time, replete with fun banter, off the record quips and lots of professional advice (read: me asking him for a job). For the better part (and then some) of a decade he's been the scary (yet warm), gravely voice of Far Cry as the series' creative lead, which makes his exit now, after the launch of Far Cry 6 and amidst new info floating around that Far Cry 7 will enter the live-service stable, a little bit interesting.

Originally reported over at VentureBeat, Hay's departure ends a creative direction for the Far Cry series that could wholly be seen as (Hay)seeded (sorry, not sorry) by the man from the get-go; big villains, open design to conflict and radio towers. So many radio towers, Dan.

Here's an official line on his departure from Ubisoft:

After more than 10 years at Ubisoft, Dan Hay has announced that he will be pursuing a new chapter in his professional life and he will be leaving on November 12. Dan has been the Executive Director of Far Cry and has developed an incredible multi-disciplined team to produce what has become one of the most popular games in Ubisoft’s history. While Dan has not announced where his path is taking him, we are confident that it will offer him the new challenges and experiences he seeks and deserves. We thank Dan for his many contributions over the years and wish him all the best for the future. In the interim, the brand team will be led by Sandra Warren in Montreal as well as a highly capable team of producers and directors, in addition to continuing its collaborations with a number of other studios around the world.

Perhaps my favourite time with Dan was on his recent trip to Australia where I partook in a panel discussion for the "Ubisoft Experience" discussing the ins and outs of the series as a region expert, alongside Dan and Far Cry 5 scribe, James Nadiger. It was super-fulfilling and also wonderfully eye-opening.

VentureBeat posits this won't be the last we'll see of Dan, with a massive boost in development happening in Montreal right now, which could see him starting his own studio, or joining someone else. Whichever, he brings a wealth of knowledge, stalwart leadership and a follow me attitude that is beyond infectious. And it will be interesting to see how the Far Cry series moving forward, without Dan, unfolds and reshapes.