Watch Dogs 1 Is Worth Revisiting With This Massive Free Expansion
Topics: Watch Dogs, Mods, Ubisoft, PC
Featured Image Credit: Ubisoft
Topics: Watch Dogs, Mods, Ubisoft, PC
The original Watch Dogs was a bit messy at launch, with many critics at the time pointing out certain downgrades compared to pre-launch marketing, as well as some features feeling like unfulfilled potential.
While Watch Dogs is still a fine game, there’s a lot about it that fans felt deserved better, where story, missions, and simple gameplay mechanics just weren’t taken as far as they could go.
This was my opinion when I played the original Watch Dogs on Xbox 360 back in 2014, but after revisiting the game in 2026, I’ve discovered it’s actually a lot better than we gave it credit for.
If you want to have a better time playing Watch Dogs in 2026, I’d recommend downloading the free Living City expansion for the game from Nexus Mods, which makes a massive number of changes to the game’s structure.
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The mod's main intention is to make the open world less uneventful and more reactive, complementing Watch Dogs’ action-packed structure with custom missions, random events, new gadgets and several new features to expand its roster of content.
The best place to start with Living City is to describe how it changes gameplay mechanics, particularly with regard to NPCs and mission structure.
There are also new events you can find out in the world seemingly happening at random, such as spontaneous police chases, street races, gang wars breaking out, and other encounters that make the world feel more alive.
Hacking too many civilians can also bring you some unwanted attention, with enemy ambushes actually trying to hack you, working similarly to the online multiplayer, where another player could invade your game.
The police system is now massively improved, where cop units will actively search and hunt for you in your last known location rather than simply setting up a yellow disk scan, making encounters with the law more dynamic and fun.
When in a car chase, the police can also utilise ctOS hacks against, closing gates, raising bollards, and putting up other inconveniences to try and stop you.
Living City’s new missions include new races taken from the online mode and put into single-player, along with some additional races which were cut from the final game.
There are also a load of new missions available around the city, which can be compared to the ones in the base game, like Gang Hideout, Criminal Convoy, and Human Traffic, as well as plenty of bonus activities which work to expand what you can do while off-mission.
Restricted areas are a new feature added to the free roam with the mod as well, similar to the red zones from story missions, where you’re prohibited from trespassing in certain areas patrolled by guards.
Meanwhile, combat also sees another massive change where you’re limited to the weapons you can carry to just one per weapon slot, with you needing to swap them at an armoury or pick up weapons off dead enemies if you want to switch.
Finally, a few smaller changes include all interior locations unlocked, so you can visit those places at any time rather than just during the campaign, as well as being able to call in backup to help you with various activities and wear custom outfits.
There’s a lot more to it than that though, which I’ve not even been able to get into yet. Altogether, if you found yourself a little disappointed by Watch Dogs but felt it had a lot of potential, I’d recommend checking it out with the Living City mod installed.
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