Far Cry 2: Longstanding fan theory officially confirmed by Ubisoft

With the release of Far Cry 6 soon, there is reason for Ubisoft to reminisce about past Far Cry villains. With that in mind, Clint Hocking, Creative Director of Far Cry 2, has confirmed a fan theory that connects Jack Carver from the original Far Cry to the jackal from 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 greatest influence on the gaming world, Far Cry 2 has taken a new direction for the series.

A fan theory has been circulating about him for years, which should bring him in direct connection with 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, 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 came up with this idea:

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.

The second and somewhat more conclusive point is that the texture files for the jackal all have the name “jackcarver” in their naming. That convinced fans that at some point during development, Ubisoft referred to the jackal as the Jack Carver.

“Jack Carver was that devious crook, smuggler and gun dealer in the original Far Cry,” 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. “

Even if this theory has now been confirmed by Ubisoft, 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 parted ways with 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 reveal makes so much sense in the context of the entire storyline 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.