The "Resist" Ending is Canon for Far Cry 5

According to official statements from the game‘s creative director and interviews with other developers, the "resist" ending in Far Cry 5 is intended to be the canonical ending that sets up the events of nuclear war referenced in later franchise titles like New Dawn.

Overview of Far Cry 5‘s Endings

Before analyzing the canonicity question, here‘s a quick refresher on the main endings available in Far Cry 5:

The Resist Ending

• You resist Joseph Seed‘s conditioning and do not give in, prompting an ambiguous cliffhanger.

The Secret Ending

• You secretly leave with your fellow officers in the prologue, leading to uncertainty about Hope County‘s fate.

The Walk Away Ending

• You accept Joseph Seed‘s rhetoric and simply walk away, leaving the cult to continue its activities.

So which of these properly sets up the post-apocalyptic events of New Dawn while aligning with developer intent? Let‘s dig deeper.

The Resist Ending is "True" Per Word of God

In an interview with GameSpot following Far Cry 5‘s release, creative director Dan Hay explicitly stated:

"The resist ending is the, what we call, the quote-unquote, ‘true ending‘ – the one that sets up the events to happen."

This meshes with other developer statements noting the resist ending leads into the uneasy nuclear backdrop of New Dawn directly. An interview with narrative director Jean-Sebastien Decant also labels this ending the "true" one intended by the writing team.

So from a dev word-of-God perspective, the resist conclusion where The Father‘s prophecies of collapse come true is meant to set up the subsequent canon.

Connections to New Dawn Confirm Resist‘s Canonicity

Indeed, the connections between Far Cry 5‘s resist ending and New Dawn go beyond developer commentary. Thematic and lore links include:

• Direct references to "The Collapse" event and nuclear war
• Characters like Joseph Seed and Thomas Rush returning or being referenced
• The global nuclear war only happens after resisting Joseph Seed til the end

The aftermath found in New Dawn simply does not reconcile with the other endings where Seed‘s prepped bunker and warnings of the end times don‘t come to fruition.

So in terms of direct continuity bridging 5 and New Dawn, only the resist conclusion properly lines up based on lore evidence.

What About Far Cry 6 Easter Eggs?

However, there are a few references in Far Cry 6 suggesting the secret ending might merit some canonical weight. For example:

• Hurk‘s presence means the arrest didn‘t happen.
• File referencing Whitehorse as a war hero, which only happens post-arrest attempt.

But these are very easily retcons or continuity errors compared to the overwhelming evidence cementing the resist ending as intended canon.

Conclusion – The "True" Ending Per Ubisoft

In the end, the developers clearly lay out the resist conclusion as "true" canon that shapes the lore moving forward into New Dawn more directly.

Could there be some alternate timelines or creative retconning via eggy nods? Potentially! But as it stands now, resisting Joseph Seed through the end is the canonical series of events per creator vision.

What do you think – does all the evidence line up or do you have a differing perspective on Far Cry 5‘s true ending? Let me know in the comments!