Far Cry 6: UK release date, gameplay trailer, dog companion Chorizo explained – and pre orders on PS5 and PS4

Ubisoft has revealed the first look at gameplay from Far Cry 6, one of the most anticipated blockbuster video games of the year.

In a live stream hosted on Friday 28 May, the legendary gaming company gave fans a glimpse at what to expect from the game when it launches later in 2021.

Far Cry 6 is the latest instalment in Ubisoft’s popular series of open-world action-adventure first-person shooter video games, which send players to tropical locales and give them a wide range of activities to complete, all tied together with a strong narrative.

The series kicked off back in 2004 with the release of Far Cry, and has since spawned four full sequels and a number of spin-off games; Far Cry 6 is technically the 13th game in the series.

Here is everything you need to know about it.

What is Far Cry 6?

Far Cry 6 takes place in the fictional island nation of Yara, once a jewel in the Caribbean crown, and now a husk of its former, glorious self, torn apart by civil war engineered by a villainous despot.

Players step into the shoes of Dani Rojas, a would-be guerrilla soldier fighting for freedom, who joins a crew of like-minded revolutionaries in an attempt to restore their nation to its former glory.

You’ll explore the island, taking in both the run-down cities patrolled by gang members and the hired goons of the dictatorial "El Presidente" Antón Castillo, and more picturesque, tropical locales which feature all kinds of dangers of their own.

Since the release of Far Cry 3 in 2012, the series has become known for its strong antagonists, featured front and centre in the games’ marketing tools and providing players a well-acted incentive to see each game’s narrative through to the end.

This time around, it falls to Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian star Giancarlo Esposito to provide the likeness and motion-captured performance of Antón Castillo.

Esposito has described his character as a leader "trying to empower the people to understand that they need strong leadership now", but is stuck in the middle of a revolution.

"He wants to empower the people to take their country back,” the actor told IGN. “His goal is to use the resources that they have within the country to survive without allowing outsiders to come in and co-opt their scientists, their intellectual property, all of these things.”

What happens in Far Cry 6?

The game is played from a first-person perspective, and you’ll be tasked with travelling about the Cuba-inspired island (the Far Cry series’ “largest playground to date") and taking on missions to further your cause.

To do this, you’ll be supplied an enviable arsenal of customisable weapons. The gameplay reveal showed off some impressive looking, action packed shooting sequences, but previous games have allowed players to take a more stealthy, non-lethal approach should they wish.

It seems the developers are really having fun with the in-game equipment this time around; at one point in the trailer, we saw our hero take down a guard with a CD launching weapon, which fired bootleg discs while playing whatever pop hits have been burned on to them.

Seeing the henchman fall to the sound of Los del Río’s ‘Macarena’ was a highlight of the stream.

Despite being labelled as a “gameplay reveal”, Ubisoft’s stream was surprisingly light on details regarding the structure of the game itself.

But previous installments have seen players liberate outposts and observe the view from atop magnificent watch towers to unlock wider areas of the map, and increase the strength and abilities of their followers.

And there will, of course, be plenty of secrets, side-quests and hidden treasure to find dotted about the map.

Who is Chorizo?

At the end of the gameplay reveal, we were treated to a glimpse of one of the game’s new animal companions.

Chorizo is a sausage dog puppy who carts his back half around in a makeshift wheelchair, having obviously been involved in some kind of horrific incident earlier in his short life.

Despite his past strife, he remains smiling and playful, panting to the camera in one of the trailer’s cutest moments.

But despite his cutesy demeanour, there’s no doubt that – like other animal companions in the game - when it comes to it, players will be able to sick Chorizo onto enemies for silent (or maybe even explosive?) takedowns.

When can I play it?

At the climax of Ubisoft’s presentation, the company revealed the long-awaited release date of Far Cry 6.

The game had originally been scheduled for release on 18 February, but was pushed back due to the effects of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

At the time the delay was announced, no concrete future release date was given by Ubisoft, but the company did say the game would be released before 30 September 2021.

Now we have final confirmation of Far Cry 6’s release date, and though Ubisoft may have missed their own goal by a week or so, we now know the game will be available from Friday 7 October 2021.

It will be released for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

The game will also be available through Amazon’s Luna streaming service, as well as Google Stadia.

Where is the best place to pre-order it?

At the time of writing, the best place we could find for pre-orders of Far Cry 6 was Simply Games, who have both the PS4 and Xbox versions of the game listed for £46.85.

Players on Xbox consoles will get to take advantage of Microsoft’s ‘Smart Delivery’ program, which allows free access to the ‘next-gen’ versions of the game – complete with enhanced graphics and features – when playing on the newer consoles, the Xbox Series X and S.

PlayStation fans aren’t so lucky, and if PlayStation 5 owners want to experience the ‘best’ version of the game, they will have to specifically buy the next-gen version of Far Cry 6.

Most outlets we’ve seen are selling this at a higher cost than the ‘current-gen’ version of the game, though we have found one retailer – The Game Collection – offering the PS5 version for £46.95.

PC players can secure the game through both the Epic Games Store and the Ubisoft Store, and subscribers to Ubisoft+ will also get access to the game when it releases.

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