Far Cry 6 Revealed, Here's Everything We Know About Ubisoft's Next Open-World Shooter

After a flurry of leaks in the days leading up to Ubisoft Forward livestream, Far Cry 6 has now been officially revealed. In development for four years at Ubisoft Toronto, Far Cry 6 will bring the series to a new locale in the Caribbean named Yara, taking many influences from the island country of Cuba. The developers of the next game in the open-world franchise recently unveiled two new trailers. One was an HBO-style opening credits sequence introducing the cast, and the other set the stage for the game's primary antagonist--Presidente Anton Castillo, played by Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul actor Giancarlo Esposito.

Set in the present day, Far Cry 6 occurs in a time of great political turmoil within Yara. As a country "frozen in time" due to economic sanctions and isolationism, the population begins to rise up against Castillo's oppressive regime that's run on his ambition to rebuild the country to its former glory. You'll play as Dani Rojas, a native Yaran who is caught up in the uprising to overthrow Castillo and free Yara from the Presidente's control. Teaming up with a guerilla faction, the protagonist will explore urban and rural areas of the island, facing off against Castillo's army and engaging in the familiar open-world antics you'd expect in a Far Cry game.

Before the reveal at Ubisoft Forward, GameSpot got an early look at the game and spoke with narrative director Navid Khavari about its creation, as well as what to expect with the next installment of the game. One important thing to note is that while Far Cry 5 and its spin-off game New Dawn brought the series into the post-apocalypse, the next game will have a story set in a more traditional setting that's not the post-apocalypse.

"I think the beauty of working on Far Cry is that every game is really its own context, its own world," said Khavari. "You have little threads that carry forward from previous games, but for us when coming up with this game, we were excited to really just dive in and tell a story about a guerilla revolution on this massive island with its own capital city. So I think once we dialed in to the idea of wanting to tell this story about guerrilla revolution, everything sort of flowed from that. And the idea is really with Far Cry, like I said, it's the reason why, honestly, I've worked on so many is that every game is almost a fresh opportunity to try something new."

While the developers didn't share too many details about the game at this time, they briefly explained some new and returning features coming to the game. Described as the most "ambitious open-world yet," the island of Yara includes a mix of jungles, coastal towns, farmland, and urban environments to explore--the latter of which is a rarity for the series. Throughout the game, you'll acquire weapons, gadgets, and vintage vehicles based on technology handed down and recycled from decades past. Returning from Far Cry 5 is the Fangs for Hire feature, allowing you to partner up with allies met in the main story--one of which is a pitbull named Chorizo.

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Another change coming to Far Cry 6 is the return of the voiced protagonist, who will be present in cutscenes and have more agency in the story than most other Far Cry lead characters. In a similar approach to Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Valhalla, players will be able to select either male or female versions of Dani, whose appearance can be customized just like in previous entries.

2018's Far Cry 5 was set in an isolated American county under the control of a madman, and FC6 is seemingly hitting at a similar tone that feels evocative of our current times. Many scenes shown in the trailer have familiar imagery of protesters fighting riot police and toppling statues of historical figures during the trailer. It no doubt leans into topics centered around the dynamics of power and the nature of control. Still, I do wonder if Far Cry 6 will have more to say about these themes of power and dictatorships in an isolated country, or if it will just be window-dressing for the game's setting. We'll certainly know more about the game in the coming months, as the launch is coming sooner than most people expected.

Like with other Ubisoft games, Far Cry 6 will also be released in multiple editions. Here's a quick breakdown of each edition of the game:

• Standard Edition: The base game.
• Gold Edition: Base game and season pass.
• Ultimate Edition: All previous content including the Jungle Expedition pack, the Croc Hunter pack, and Vice Pack bonus DLC.
• The Collector's Edition: Box set with includes the ultimate edition, a steelbook case, 64-page artbook, stickers, a Chorizo keyring, a soundtrack, map of Yara, and a 72cm display model of the "Tostador" flamethrower from the game (assembly required).

Far Cry 6 looks to continue on with the series' tradition of featuring vibrant, lush worlds to explore, while following the trail of a brutal, charismatic antagonist whose presence is felt throughout the game. Set for release on February 18, 2021 for PC via the Epic Game Store and Uplay, PS5, Xbox Series X, Google Stadia and current-gen consoles. Players who buy the game on PS4 and Xbox One will be able to upgrade to next-gen versions free of charge.

For more on Far Cry 6, check out more of our talk with narrative director Navid Khavari about the making of the game's setting and how Giancarlo Esposito prepared for the role.