Far Cry 2: Longstanding fan theory officially confirmed by Ubisoft

Far Cry 2

The flagship of the Far Cry games are known to be their respective antagonists. Characters like Vaas, Pagan Min, and Joseph Seed all have earned their place in the villain's hall of fame. Ubisoft laid the foundation for this with Far Cry 2 and the jackal. Even if The Jackal, as it is called in the original version, may not have had the strongest influence on the gaming world, Far Cry 2 has taken a new direction for the series. Theory that should put him in direct relation to the first Far Cry. The theory is that the Jackal from Far Cry 2 and Jack Carver from the original Far Cry are one and the same person. This theory was recently officially confirmed:

"The Jackal is supposed to be Jack Carver from the original Far Cry," said Clint Hocking, Creative Director of Far Cry 2 (buy now $ 56.99 / $ 9.99) €), speaking to IGN for the latest Inside Stories documentary, "How Far Cry's Iconic Villains Were Created".

The theory may sound far-fetched, but there are two points that can explain why fans are on this idea came up:

The first point is that the jackal's career is similar to that of Jack Carver. Both characters served in the U.S. Navy, and both had illegal arms trading businesses. It has also been theorized that the box presented to Jack Carver at the end of Far Cry Instincts is full of Conflict Diamonds, which are an important part of the Far Cry 2 story.

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Far Cry 6 alluded to! Our first impressions of the story and gameplay of Ubisoft's new open world shooter can be found in the large hands-on preview. var lstExcludedArticleTicker = '1380871,1378465'; The second and somewhat more conclusive point is that the texture files for the jackal all have the name "jackcarver" in their naming. This convinced the fans that Ubisoft called the jackal the Jack Carver at some point during development.

"In the original Far Cry, Jack Carver was this devious crook, smuggler and gun dealer," explains Hocking. "The idea was that [the jackal] is just him 10 years or so after seeing what he saw on this island [during the Far Cry events]. Maybe it was drug-induced, maybe it is it's a post-traumatic stress disorder, but maybe it's real. But the idea is that a decade later he improved his smuggling skills and got involved in this conflict. "

Although this theory has now been confirmed by Ubisoft, however, the question of the timing of the events of both games remains open. Far Cry 2 is set in 2008 and its predecessor in 2025. Here it could be argued that after Ubisoft split from Crytek, who were responsible for the development of Far Cry, they simply took the building blocks of the existing game and theirs made their own world out of it. Unfortunately, Hocking did not comment on this.

Whether this revelation makes so much sense in the context of the entire plot of the Far Cry universe is certainly up to the fans. Everyone who had this theory at the time can now feel officially confirmed.

It is also exciting to find out whether the soon-to-be-released Far Cry 6 will be part of the previous Far Cry universe or a completely new story . What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

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Ubisoft Confirms Fan Theory About Far Cry 2’s Jackal Villain

Ubisoft has confirmed that the villain of Far Cry 2, the Jackal, is Jack Carver from the first Far Cry game. 

This news comes by way of IGN, which interviewed Far Cry 2 creative director Clint Hocking about the game. Far Cry fans have long believed that Far Cry 2's Jackal villain is Jack Carver, the protagonist of the first Far Cry, but nothing in-game confirmed this theory. Now, Hocking has revealed that this theory is correct. 

'The Jackal is actually supposed to be Jack Carver from the original Far Cry,' Hocking said. 'Jack Carver in the original Far Cry was this shifty, smuggler, gun runner kind of crook. The idea was (the Jackal) is just him, 10 years later or something, after he's seen whatever he saw on this island (in Far Cry).' 

Hocking says that perhaps Carver's Jackal transformation was drug-induced or the result of the trauma and stress endured on the island in Far Cry. 

As for how fans determined Carver must be Jackal, it stems from two critical pieces of information about the two characters: Jackal's background and the texture files of Jackal in Far Cry 2, as noted by IGN. 

Both Jackal and Carver have a service history with the U.S. Navy, and both traded weapons illegally. That could have easily been a coincidence, but when coupled with the texture file names of Jackal in Far Cry 2, things seem more purposeful. The Jackal's texture files in Far Cry 2 all feature the name 'jackcarver,' such as 'jackcarver_hair_d_mip0.dds' and 'jackcarver_shoes_d.dds.' 

Now, this could have been a weird coincidence, but Ubisoft is the one that creates these file names. Why use 'jackcarver' randomly in a texture file name for Jackal? That's a question fans had been asking since Far Cry 2's release back in 2008, and now, 13 years later, they have an answer: the Jackal is Jack Carver. 

For more about Far Cry, check out Game Informer's ranking of every Far Cry game, and then read our thoughts on the latest entry in the series with our Far Cry 6 preview. Check out how Far Cry 6 is crossing over with Stranger Things and Rambo after that.  

[Source: IGN]