Featured Image Credit: Ubisoft
Topics: Watch Dogs, Ubisoft, Watch Dogs Legion
It’s been five years since Ubisoft last did anything with the Watch Dogs franchise, but the series may still yet live thanks to a new rumour.
A report in January suggested that the future of the Watch Dogs series is effectively dead, following a restructure at Ubisoft which saw several games cancelled.
The remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time ended up on the cutting room floor as a result, and it seemed that the Watch Dogs franchise was also part of these cuts.
However, a new report from Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson suggests that Ubisoft is actually planning a new update for the Watch Dogs franchise.
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Interestingly, Henderson was also the one to report on the previous rumour that the company had shelved its Watch Dogs development.
Speaking on the Insider Gaming podcast, Henderson states that Ubisoft is working on a Director’s Cut for Watch Dogs Legion, which will include new content, a ‘night mode’, and new motion capture performances.
“I think I said something like the Watch Dogs franchise is dead or something like that,” Henderson stated on the podcast’s latest episode.
“I've now found out that there is some work being done on the Watch Dogs franchise, and that is related to Watch Dogs Legion. Almost like a director's cut, I guess, in a way.”
Henderson adds: “There's going to be some new content in it. I believe I've heard that they might do a fully night mode version of the game or something like that [...] they're doing new mocap for it.”
He also states that he’s heard Ubisoft’s new strategy is to do “director's cuts and new versions of games that they've already done,” likening it to cheap versions of remasters.
In terms of what else that could entail, we know there is some kind of re-release of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, either as a remaster or a full-blown remake for modern systems.
It was previously rumoured to be out in March, but it’s possible this has now been pushed back to later in the year, or possibly 2027.
Naturally, some players are torn on this. In particular, the decision to do a director’s cut of Watch Dogs Legion over either of the previous two games has been questioned by fans.
“Why. If any game in the franchise were surely you'd do the one people generally like in 2,” wrote one fan on Reddit.
“I really liked all three Watch Dogs games. And Legion, while imperfect in some respects (the lack of different types of NPCs or the lack of customization options for its avatar), was a very good experience for me. I could restart it,” another wrote.
“This screams Switch 2 and Ubisoft wanting to add new stuff to make it more attractive to new potential buyers,” wrote another.