Far Cry 4 Is “Packed to the Gills” With Women

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July 1, 2014

Far Cry 4 concept art

Upcoming open-world action game Far Cry 4 does not feature any playable female characters, but that doesn't mean the title is completely male-focused. The reality is quite the opposite, according to Far Cry 4 director Alex Hutchinson. In an interview with Outside Xbox, Hutchinson said you can expect to encounter a number of significant female characters throughout the game.

He said Ubisoft "tried very hard to make sure of the four main antagonists, half of them are women, which is cool. On your side, one of the main leaders of the rebel faction is a woman, half the rebels that fight with you are women. It's packed to the gills with women. They're everywhere, just like life."

At E3 2014, Hutchinson said Ubisoft was "inches away" from letting gamers play as a female character in Far Cry 4's co-op mode. The reason this was not possible, Hutchinson said at the time, was simply the result of a "workload issue." Ubisoft didn't have a female voice actor lined up and the development team didn't have female animations in place, he said.

Ubisoft has been surrounded by controversy regarding the role of women in its games since E3. Before Hutchinson revealed that Far Cry 4 would not feature female playable characters, another Ubisoft developer said creating playable females in Assassin's Creed Unity would have "doubled" its work (a point which would later be contested). Ubisoft formally addressed the matter during E3, saying that it recognizes the "valid concern" about diversity in video games.

Also during Outside Xbox's interview with Hutchinson, he put an end to the thought that Far Cry 4's main character is actually the son of the insane antagonist, Pagan Min. He is "not your father," Hutchinson said. He did tease, however, that Min is someone who you are familiar with.

"We didn't want a villain who's just shaking his fist at you and threatening to kill you and murder your family, and the inevitability of you shotgunning him in the face," Hutchinson said. "And neither did we want someone who didn't know you at all. We wanted you to actually sort of have a secret history in this country."

Far Cry 4 launches November 18 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. For more, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.