How Does Far Cry 6 Fit into the Far Cry Timeline?

Far Cry 6 is a direct sequel to 2018‘s Far Cry 5, set 4 years later in the year 2021. While featuring a brand new setting and characters, subtle references and returning faces confirm it continues the story Events established in Far Cry 5 shape the world state leading into Far Cry 6.

The Setting and Characters of Far Cry 6

Far Cry 6 takes place in Yara, a tropical island nation inspired by Cuba and described as “stuck in time”. Ruled by dictator Antón Castillo, Yara is a country frozen politically in the 1960s due to an isolationist revolution. Players control Dani Rojas, a local Yaran who gets swept up into a modern day guerilla revolution to remove Castillo.

Anton Castillo is a deeply nationalistic leader bent on restoring his country to prosperity – by any means necessary. Aid by his 13-year-old son Diego, Castillo maintains an iron grip on Yara’s population through violent military force. His secret police the SGD root out dissidents. And thus an underground resistance rises up behind charismatic leader Clara Garcia.

Clear Connections Between Far Cry 5 and 6

Despite featuring an all new location and conflict, Far Cry 6 contains both subtle and overt references confirming it a sequel to events in America depicted in Far Cry 5.

Major evidence comes via the prominent return of supporting character Boomer the Dog. Boomer originally assisted The Junior Deputy in Far Cry 5, set in rural Montana. His appearance here shows that the nuclear strikes which ended Far Cry 5 did not come to pass after all – or at least did not reach as far as Yara.

Specific lines of dialogue also mention “The Collapse” in past tense, as a prior event with lingering effects. While never depicted, The Collapse continues to shape geopolitics leading into Far Cry 6. Furthermore, Doctor Franck Rousseau from Far Cry 4 can be found in Yara, researching the long term effects of nuclear radiation from the aftermath of the bombs detonated in Hope County. This confirms the disaster as canon despite happening off-screen.

This means the events players experienced first-hand in America during Far Cry 5 have profoundly changed the wider world. Rousseau’s presence proves the games follow chronological order on a singular timeline.

Returning Faces from Far Cry Past

In addition to direct FC5 links, Far Cry 6 brings back famous faces from previous franchise entries – implying Dani Rojas’ revolution is set in a world where those past events also occurred.

The biggest shock comes in the game’s ending credits scene, which reveals eccentric pirate Vaas Montenegro of Far Cry 3 is still alive and once again active. While non-committal, it can be assumed that Vaas survived events on the Rook Islands and eventually returned to the Caribbean Sea – leading him to cross paths with new protagonist Dani.

Far Cry Character | Game Origin | Fate in Original Game | Role in Far Cry 6
—|—|—
Vaas Montenegro | Far Cry 3 | Shot by Jason Brody | Returns in secret ending
Joseph Seed | Far Cry 5 | Survives nuclear war | Appears in DLC episode
Buck Hughes| Far Cry 3| Killed by Jason Brody | Mentioned by Vaas

Additionally, post-launch DLC allows players to control Joseph Seed – the main antagonist of Far Cry 5 following the nuclear warhead detonations in Hope County. While non-canon stories set inside his mind, they confirm Joseph lives on through events of Far Cry 6 as he continues to influence followers via radio broadcasts years later.

This string of cameos strongly indicates that the bleach shirt-wearing psychopath Vaas, doomsday cult leader Joseph and the other menaces faced in past Far Cry adventures all co-exist in a shared reality that now includes the island movements of Yara’s modern revolution.

Theories on Continued Timeline Placement

The return of Boomer and multiple direct references confirm Far Cry 6 comes chronologically after the events depicted in Far Cry 5, while bringing back old villains also connects it to games as far back as Far Cry 3.

But it also raises interesting questions – if Far Cry 5 ended in global nuclear disaster, how does life continue on into Far Cry 6? Is Dani Rojas’ revolution happening in a post-apocalyptic wasteland?

One logical theory is that the “Collapse” brought on by the detonation of Joseph Seed’s bunker nukes caused catastrophe to America, but did not reach as far as the remote Caribbean islands. Similar to real history, archipelagos like Cuba, Haiti and other small Caribbean nations could avoid the worst international upheaval.

This would allow Yara to continue on relatively normally while still refererencing and acknowledging the dire events abroad in North America. It might not directly depict the post-apocalypse, but characters like Dr. Frank show the long term ripples of what transpired.

Ultimately fans will have to wait for a direct Far Cry sequel to reveal more details on how the global nuclear war impacts the rest of the planet. But loose connections through returning faces and references make clear Far Cry 6 takes place in the established Far Cry timeline – whether explicitly showing the broader fallout or not.

In Conclusion…

Despite first appearances of featuring completely original characters and locales, Far Cry 6 serves as an overt direct sequel to previous franchise storylines – in particular, Far Cry 5. The return of canine companion Boomer, multiple textual references to the "Collapse" event, and cameos from old series antagonists confirm Dani Rojas‘ 2021 revolution happens against the backdrop of an existing world shaped by prior games.

Exactly how warlords like Vaas can resurface years later and what extent of devastation was wrought by Joseph Seed’s nuclear ambition remains to be seen. But by bringing back familiar faces from these past threats, Ubisoft make clear that the lion’s share of content across Far Cry’s decade-plus game catalogue all fall along the same canon timeline…which players can now confirm continues marches on into dystopian Yara.