Ubisoft had a hit on their hands last year with the release of Watch Dogs. The game was an action-adventure game set in Chicago that involved hacking, hacking, and more hacking to achieve game goals. A recent leak from an Ubisoft representative has confirmed that Watch Dogs 2 is on the way, but this was actually expected. The real question is when the release date is, and what will the gameplay and characters be like?
According to Gotta Be Mobile, the major leak for the Watch Dogs 2 release was of all things, a LinkedIn profile. An Ubisoft senior gameplay designer named Julien Risse that works Ubisoft's Paris headquarters had put Watch Dogs and Bad Blood on his resume, as well as a video game he was working on now called Watch Dogs 2. Reese has since removed that particular job from his profile, but it was enough to get the news out there. Videogamer were the ones credited with making this discovery, and it looks like we know that Watch Dogs 2 is underway.
This was not the only indicator that there would be a sequel to the game. After all, the first game sold about eight million copies, which is enough to signal that a sequel would make sell even more. Also, Jonathan Morin, the creative director in charge of the original Watch Dogs, has publicly discussed what changes Ubisoft could make to a potential follow-up.
PC Gamer also reports that Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot suggested that the sequel might not feature Watch Dogs lead Aiden Pearce, and Ubisoft Montreal Vice President Lionel Raynaud was quoted in saying "fixing and refining what worked well [in the original Watch Dogs game] is probably the way to go for Watch Dogs 2.
VG 24/7 has suggested that perhaps Ubisoft might talk more about Watch Dogs 2 at E3 2015. For those who are not familiar with E3, it is short for the Electronic Entertainment Expo, which happens annually in the summertime at the Los Angeles Convention Center. It is where most of the big video game companies make their huge announcements, and Watch Dogs 2 would be a welcome one.
It seems like Ubisoft was looking for a franchise, and Watch Dogs, the original, certainly set a good foundation for one. Watch Dogs was released to Windows, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and the Wii U in 2014, and it is an open world action-adventure game that takes place in a possibly futuristic, possibly alternate history version of Chicago. The player is Aiden Pearce, who is trying to seek revenge after 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 about everything in the city itself. Much of the game involves stealth activities as well as hacking machines to get to the next objective.
If VG 24/7 is right, and Watch Dogs 2 is announced at E3 2015, then it will probably have a Holiday 2015 release date. If not, then expect it for some time in 2016 or beyond.
