The Complete List of Far Cry Games in Chronological and Release Order

Far Cry

• Release Date — March 23, 2004
• Developer — Crytek
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 2.5 million units
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

More than two decades out from its release, the original Far Cry is still impressive for how it establishes many of the tenets of future open-world shooters. At the time of its release, there was nothing like Far Cry, and Crytek’s impressive engine it developed for the game would go on to be the foundation of the studio’s later (and equally impressive) Crysis games. While the original Far Cry is fairly linear in comparison to later entries in the series, many of the future hallmarks of the franchise are front-and-center in its gameplay, including players having the freedom to approach objectives using multiple strategies, where a silent-but-deadly approach is just as feasible and effective as going in guns-blazing.

Far Cry Instincts

• Release Date — September 27, 2005
• Developer — Ubisoft Montreal
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 0.57 million units
• Platforms — Xbox

Somehow, the team at Ubisoft Montreal was able to (mostly) get the original Far Cry to run on the Xbox, showcasing the talent that this team would put to great use on the series moving forward after Crytek had moved on to develop Crysis. Of course, much of the original Far Cry‘s vast semi-open-world map is lost in the translation, with Far Cry Instincts mostly abandoning the non-linearity of the original Far Cry to get it running on Microsoft’s Xbox. Still, Far Cry Instincts was one of the best shooters on the original Xbox for its time, and it does a great job translating the original Far Cry‘s unique single-player campaign into players’ living rooms. As it stands, the original Far Cry on PC mostly discouraged players from veering off the critical path anyway, so Far Cry Instincts isn’t as much of a concession as some might have you believe.

Far Cry Instincts: Evolution

• Release Date — March 28, 2006
• Developer — Ubisoft Montreal
• Review Aggregate Score — 78% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 0.08 million units (~80,000)
• Platforms — Xbox

Not to be confused with being yet another port of the original Far Cry, Far Cry Instincts: Evolution is actually the first original single-player content for the Far Cry series post the original game, and it offers some major shake-ups to the series’ formula considering its arrival so early on in the franchise’s legacy. Primarily, the campaign of Evolution sees players begin the game with the enhanced feral abilities that the protagonist only unlocks late in the game of Instincts, which open up plenty of new and fun ways for tackling enemies and trivializing what would have been otherwise challenging sections of gameplay. While it is shorter than the original conversion of Far Cry‘s PC campaign in Instincts, Far Cry Instincts: Evolution is still a fun romp through the jungle that never runs the risk of overstaying its welcome.

Far Cry Instincts: Predator

• Release Date — March 28, 2006
• Developer — Ubisoft Montreal
• Review Aggregate Score — 78% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 0.24 million units
• Platforms — Xbox 360

Arguably the best console port of the original Far Cry, Far Cry Instincts: Predator would end up releasing the same day as Instincts: Evolution and it includes both the full campaign of Far Cry Instincts and the new single-player content from Evolution. Better yet, it has enhanced visuals and performance thanks to it being an Xbox 360 title, positioning itself as one of the better early FPS titles on the console. While it is still a mostly linear game that doesn’t include any of the semi-open-world progression or nonlinearity of the original PC version of Far Cry (that wouldn’t arrive on 7th gen consoles until much later), Far Cry Instincts: Predator was, for many years, the best way for console players to experience the first game in the Far Cry series, and it helped set up the soon-to-arrive sequel for substantial success.

Far Cry Vengeance

• Release Date — December 12, 2006
• Developer — Ubisoft
• Review Aggregate Score — 38% (Generally Unfavorable)
• Total Sales — 0.08 million units (~80,000)
• Platforms — Wii

Funny that the previous release of Instincts stands as the best because the final port of the game on the Nintendo Wii is objectively the worst way to experience the console port of the first Far Cry. While there would be some great shooters on the Wii making the best of the console’s unique control scheme and motion aiming, Far Cry Vengeance is not one of them, and it mostly boils down to the Wii’s technical limitations. Vengeance looks and runs worse than even the Xbox version of Far Cry Instincts, which no novel control scheme can make up for. Far Cry Vengeance struggles to maintain a stable 30FPS in even normal scenarios, and it chugs along at an embarrassingly slow pace during encounters — not great for a shooter where twitch reflexes are important.

Far Cry 2

• Release Date — October 21, 2008
• Developer — Ubisoft Montreal
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 2.9 million units
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

While it would be Far Cry 3 that saw the series transform into one of Ubisoft’s most successful and important IPs, much of the groundwork for that pivotal entry is laid in the series’ first official sequel, Far Cry 2. There’s a lot that Far Cry 2 does that still sets it apart from the later entries in the series as a wholly unique and groundbreaking experience, such as the realistic fire physics, the weapon degradation system, and the constant battle with malaria that the game’s protagonist (of which there are 4 players can choose from) must contend with throughout the entire campaign.

Far Cry 3 would do away with a lot of the more tedious and cumbersome mechanics that Far Cry 2 introduced, but its morally ambiguous antagonist, excellent story, oppressive atmosphere, and novel blend of RPG mechanics and nonlinear exploration within an FPS were like nothing else at the time of its release. More than 15 years later, it’s easy to see why Far Cry 2 still holds up as many fans’ favorite game in the series.

Far Cry 3

• Release Date — November 29, 2012
• Developer — Ubisoft Montreal
• Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 10 million units
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

The release of Far Cry 3 in 2012 would prove to be a pivotal moment for first-person shooters, open-world games, and Ubisoft, quickly outpacing the entire series’ sales up to that point and inspiring a slew of future titles thanks to its novel blend of RPG-style character progression and first-person shooting. While we might look back at Far Cry 3 and be able to easily recognize its open-world design as being dated and emblematic of a bygone era, it was groundbreaking at the time of its release and would serve as an important foundational pillar in the “Ubisoft Open-World” template governing the studio’s other IP such as Ghost Recon, Assassin’s Creed, and Watch Dogs.

Beyond its critical acclaim and commercial success, Far Cry 3 also happens to be a great game with diegetic mechanics, one of the best video game antagonists of all time, and a gorgeous tropical open-world sandbox that remains fun to explore even after 30+ hours. Far Cry 3 would end up being one of the most successful games of the 7th generation, and its impressive sales all but cemented the path forward for every one of the future Far Cry games.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

• Release Date — May 1, 2013
• Developer — Ubisoft Montreal
• Review Aggregate Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 1 million units
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

Ask any Far Cry fan which game in the series is their favorite, and there’s a strong chance that 2013’s Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon will land at or near the top. This standalone DLC for Far Cry 3 is technically the first new game in the series to adapt that title’s formula in a new setting and story, proving that the mechanics and elements of the third Far Cry had legs that could carry the franchise forward. It’s also one of the most fun (and funniest) games in the series thanks to its unabashed love for all things 1980s, including having Terminator and Aliens leading man Michael Biehn voice the protagonist and plenty of hilarious decade-appropriate easter eggs in its absolutely bonkers neon-soaked campaign. It is a little on the short side, but in terms of gameplay value-per-minute, few titles can match Blood Dragon.

Far Cry 4

• Release Date — November 18, 2014
• Developer — Ubisoft Montreal
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 10 million units
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

It could be said that Far Cry 4‘s greatest sin is that it plays things a little too safe and comes off feeling like more of Far Cry 3. But when the foundation you’re working with is as good as Far Cry 3 is, it’s hard to fault Ubisoft Montreal for simply wanting to give players more of what they love. Far Cry 4 does shake up the formula a bit in terms of its setting, swapping the tropical jungles of Polynesia for the mountainous and rocky terrain of northern Tibet, including some impressive verticality in its open-world sandbox. While following up Far Cry 3‘s Vaas was always going to be a tough sell for the next series villain, Far Cry 4‘s Pagan Min does a commendable job, even going so far as to be the most likable character in the game thanks to an all-time performance from Troy Baker.

Far Cry Primal

• Release Date — February 23, 2016
• Developer — Ubisoft Montreal
• Review Aggregate Score — 76% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 4 million units
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

One Far Cry game that seems to never get enough love is Far Cry Primal, which takes some bold risks that mostly pay off following Far Cry 4‘s attempts to play it safe. Rather than take place in the modern era like other Far Cry games, Far Cry Primal takes the well-established formula of Far Cry 3 and transposes it into a prehistory setting where players are still liberating outposts, hunting animals, and traversing a massive open-world map, but they’re doing so without the aid of firearms and instead relying on primitive weapons like spears, clubs, and one of the series’ best bow and arrow.

Thanks to the amount of historical research Ubisoft Montreal undertook for Far Cry Primal‘s authenticity, the game is a sort of unique blend of two Ubisoft franchises (Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed), and its excellent combat is enough of a selling point to justify at least one playthrough.

Far Cry 5

• Release Date — March 27, 2018
• Developer — Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Toronto
• Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 10 million units
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Despite loving both Far Cry 3 and 4, Far Cry 5 didn’t quite grab me in the same way at first. But after putting some time into its campaign and coming to terms with its more streamlined approach to the Far Cry 3 formula, I (like many other players) found myself loving the game for its story, characters, and setting, with Far Cry 5 delivering one of the best open-world sandboxes in the series. For the first time since the franchise began, Far Cry 5 takes place right in our own backyard, and it features a story centered around religious extremism and domestic terrorism that only seems to become more and more prescient in the years since its release.

Aside from its excellent story (and shocking ending), though, Far Cry 5 was easily the best-playingFar Cry game up to that point in the series, with the aiming and shooting its most responsive and accurate yet and the open-world exploration offering some truly breathtaking moments thanks to the plethora of vehicles players could take to the sky in to soak up virtual tourism of the great American midwest. Plus, bonus points for giving players Boomer, one of the best dog companions in all of video games and a certified good boy.

Far Cry New Dawn

• Release Date — February 15, 2019
• Developer — Ubisoft Montreal
• Review Aggregate Score — 71% (Mixed or Average)
• Total Sales — 2 million units (estimated)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

The other major standalone DLC for a mainline Far Cry game, Far Cry New Dawn is, ironically, a far cry in quality from Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. It’s slightly longer than Blood Dragon, with most players able to complete the main quest line in about 10-12 hours versus Blood Dragon‘s 5, but it rarely ever offers up anything of note that keeps players hooked in the way that Blood Dragon‘s campaign did. Plus, New Dawn canonizes the bleakest ending of Far Cry 5 and gives players arguably the worst pair of antagonists in the series in The Twins, generally failing to deliver a satisfying conclusion to the Far Cry 5 narrative.

However, those looking for a unique take on Far Cry 5‘s excellent open-world sandbox will find plenty to love about New Dawn, as it takes some interesting liberties with its moment-to-moment gameplay thanks to the title’s post-apocalyptic setting. New Dawn is a bit of a let-down considering how great Far Cry 5 is, but it does include some fun twists on what was becoming a bit of a stale formula at the time of its release.

Far Cry 6

• Release Date — October 7, 2021
• Developer — Ubisoft Toronto
• Review Aggregate Score — 74% (Mixed or Average)
• Total Sales — 10 million units
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

2021’s Far Cry 6 is both the latest game in the series and the first since the original to feature development from a studio other than Ubisoft Montreal, with Ubisoft Toronto taking the reins for this most recent mainline entry. Accordingly, Far Cry 6 actually does a few novel things with the series’ formula, even if it does still ultimately boil down to the core loop of liberating outposts, taking on missions, and chasing down map markers. One of the more surprising changes of Far Cry 6 is its almost complete abandonment of stealth mechanics, which — while they do technically exist — are downplayed in favor of the plethora of options players have to go loud in every encounter.

Aside from its subtle changes to the series’ gameplay formula, Far Cry 6 is a sort of return to form for the franchise in terms of its story and tone, but it’s not too memorable outside the excellent performances from Breaking Bad‘s Giancarlo Esposito as the main antagonist and Anthony Gonzalez as his son. And, true to form for the series, Far Cry 6 is yet another entry in the franchise to sell more than 10 million units and counting, suggesting that players shouldn’t expect too much of a radical deviation from the upcoming Far Cry 7 that’s currently in development.