The Watch Dogs video game was a definite attempt from Ubisoft to jumpstart a new franchise based on hacking in an open-world environment, and it appears to have succeeded.  Ubisoft is having a strange year as it will not have a new offering of its popular Assassin's Creed franchise, and it should come as no surprise that a sequel to Watch Dogs is coming.  This is the latest news about Watch Dogs 2 Release Date, and how it could show up as early as this year. 

According to Gotta Be Mobile, the confirmation of Watch Dogs 2 came from an earnings call aimed at Ubisoft investors as well as the press.  Granted, it isn't called Watch Dogs 2, but "the next installment of Watch Dogs." 

Yes, there isn't much known about Watch Dogs 2, a report from Kotaku suggests that it might take place in San Francisco.  If you aren't familiar with Watch Dogs, it is an open world action-adventure game that takes place in a possibly futuristic, perhaps alternate history version of Chicago.  The player is Aiden Pearce, who is trying to seek revenge for the death of his niece.  Pearce is a hacker, which features prominently in the game as Chicago is controlled by a ctOS, a CenTralized Operating System that controls everything in the city itself.  Much of the game involves stealth activities as well as hacking machines to get to the next objective. 

Cinemablend recently interviewed Ubisoft Montreal Vice President of Creative Lionel Raynaud about the sequel, who claimed that they wanted to make "radical" changes to Watch Dogs 2.  Raynaud admitted that there were a lot of flaws in the gameplay loops of the first game, and there were flaws in the vehicles as well.  The hacking with the open world was not as grand as they could have been, but since the first game established the new world, the sequel could make it better. 

One of the biggest criticisms against Watch Dogs is that its protagonist, Aiden Pearce, is just not very likable.  Perhaps he will be replaced with some new character, and Aiden will be only somewhat involved in the main story, or not at all. 

So when is the official release date of Watch Dogs 2?  We're probably looking at sometimes in April of next year.  That is hardly a substitute for Assassin's Creed for this year, as it is possible that series will be back on track by that time. 

There are rumors that Watch Dogs 2 is coming this year, and could be shown off by Ubisoft at E3 2016.  E3 stands for Electronic Entertainment Expo, and it is a big video game convention that takes place every summer at the Los Angeles Convention Center.    Generally, the big companies show off their upcoming games, and without an Assassin's Creed game, Watch Dogs 2 could be in the spotlight.