Ubisoft Forward Officially Reveals 'Far Cry 6,' Giancarlo Esposito As Lead Villain

One of the biggest news coming out of the Ubisoft Forward livestream saw the revelation of “Far Cry 6” as well as the announcement of Giancarlo Esposito playing a character that seems similar to his iconic portrayal of Gustavo Fring on “Breaking Bad.”

Set on the island of Yara in the Caribbean, it is a time of political turmoil and rioting in Yara. Led by “El Presidente” Anton Castillo, Yara is similar to Cuba in the sense that it is “frozen in time” due to economic sanctions imposed against its repressive administration.

“Far Cry 6” players will take control of 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.

A big difference between “Far Cry 5” and this new title is the post-apocalyptic setting of the former whereas “Far Cry 6” will be much more contemporary. "I think the beauty of working on Far Cry is that every game is really its own context, its own world," said “Far Cry 6” narrative director Navid Khavari to GameSpot.

"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,” Khavari said.

“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,” he said.

Ubisoft 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.

In Esposito, you immediately have an established character actor with decades of experience at the forefront. Although he was already known for appearing in “School Daze,” “Do The Right Thing,” “Mo Better Blues,” and “Malcolm X” for film director Spike Lee, Esposito’s big break came when he took on the role of Gus Fring on “Breaking Bad.”

As the owner and operator of the Los Pollos Hermanos chain of fast-food restaurants, Fring is actually a distributor of methamphetamine across the Southwestern United States. His calm and cool exterior hides a vicious murderer underneath and Esposito’s portrayal of Fring on both “Breaking Bad” and subsequently, “Better Call Saul” made him one of the most recognizable television villains of the past decade.

“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, says GameSpot.

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.