The character initially attracted controversy and accusations of "racist imagery" from a vocal minority following the unveiling of the game's cover art in mid-2014, which shows the light-skinned Pagan Min resting his hand on a dark-skinned individual.

[3] He then assumed control of his family’s modest fortunes to acquire considerable assets and assemble a small private army to make a grab for power and dominance within the Golden Triangle, a geographical location between Myanmar, Laos and Thailand known for being one of the world’s largest regions of opium production.

[2] Driven by delusions of grandeur and hubris, a 21-year-old Pagan Min participated in the conflict on the arrogant belief that he could save the country from its status as a failed state, and brought a child emperor to restore the recently massacred royal family, before murdering him and taking the throne for himself.

[2] A character concept that was proposed early in development involved an eccentric military dictator, styled after the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who would award himself fake ribbons as prizes.

He claimed that a consensus from the development team decided that Far Cry 4 should focus on the villain as much as the hero, and so Min became a much bigger part of the game when contrasted with Vaas' role in the preceding title.

[8] Pagan Min's backstory, as well as that of Kyrat, is inspired by the real-world history of Nepal, in particular the turbulent years of the Nepalese Civil War and its subsequent transition from a monarchy to a republic.

Wanting players to guess Min's intentions and add a layer of mystery to him, Ubisoft staff shared teasers and hints of a past connection between Ajay and him in pre-release interviews about Far Cry 4.

[8] Hutchison acknowledged that it is hard to present a believable villain who does not feel "paper thin or artificial" due to the nature of the video game medium, and so the team opted to give Far Cry 4 a branching narrative with various different endings and alternate moments which is intended to respond to any questions that the player might have.

[3] Encouraged by the fact that no one else broke character and out of his desire to maintain the visceral atmosphere of a Far Cry game, Baker carried on with the scene and ad-libbed a monologue where he switched from a charming tone to a sadistic one and threatened to cut off the assistant's face.

[11][2] Baker credited his previous work and reputation as an actor for Ubisoft's willingness to not only let him deviate from the script during the audition but also to grant him a significant amount of creative freedom to develop Pagan Min's personality.

[3] Although he did draw on the length and breadth of his experience as a professional actor up to that point in time, Baker noted that there was also an opportunity to build off the successes of previous games in the franchise by identifying the elements which resonated with critics and players.

[3] To avoid a common trope of what Baker described as "another mustache-twirling systemic obstacle in the path of the player character", Ubisoft had several discussions with him about delivering a fresh and compelling take character-wise for Pagan Min, while still incorporating the principles that worked for previous games.

[3] The team gave Baker an overall idea for the theme, setting, and tone they want to see, but encouraged a collaborative approach where he would continue immersing himself in the game world and provide both positive and negative feedback from his experiences.

Although Baker had some parameters set for him, including a specific request that he does not reprise the same style and voice he used for the Joker in 2013's Batman: Arkham Origins, his preparation for the character was minimalistic in nature as he continued the same improvisational approach he used during his audition.

He then turns on a smile in almost an instant for a selfie opportunity with Ajay, whom he calls his "guest of honor" and brings him to the stronghold of his general Paul "De Pleur" Harmon for a meal of crab rangoon.

Min is depicted as omnipresent throughout the game world of Far Cry 4 without being personally visible: examples include his loudspeaker monologues or effigies crafted in his image found around Kyrat.

He is established to have attempted to destroy any sense of the nation's religious beliefs due to his desire to bring Kyrat into the modern era, whilst also making profits via the production of drugs and slave labor.

He wakes up later and follows the voice of Lakshmana who guides him back to the Ghale family as he explores his past memories, trying to hide his mistakes while collecting pieces of a mask and fighting apparitions of the Tyrant, Yuma Lau, Ajay and his father Mohan and the Golden Path soldiers.

[16] A reimagined version of Pagan Min appears in the second episode of the 2023 animated series Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, voiced by Daniel York Loh.

[21] Speculation began circulating on the internet following a gameplay demonstration showcase at E3 2014 that Pagan Min is in fact the father of Ajay, though Hutchinson debunked rumors of the supposed plot twist not long afterwards.

Driver noted that while Pagan Min is not nearly as beloved as Vaas, he is representative of a trend where the role of the villain has become increasingly important to the identity of the Far Cry series and still received widespread acclaim from critics and fans.

[8] Polygon ranked Pagan Min among the best video game characters of the 2010s, with Colin Campbell praising him as the most "colorful and disturbing" of the psychotic, charismatic villains the Far Cry series is known for.