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Watch Dogs Legion release date and all the latest details

Ubisoft’s open-world series is taking a darker trip to Blighty. Here’s everything you need to know

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When is the Watch Dogs Legion release date? Watch Dogs Legion is the third open-world game in the anarchic, tech-savvy series. You’ll take to the streets of London as part of the DedSec group rising against the government and private military group Albion and CEO Nigel Cass.

The first and obvious thing is that it’s not called Watch Dogs 3, as many of us had expected, it’s called Legion. Why Legion? One of the early gameplay features to be shown off gives us the ability to turn any citizen on the street into a playable character. So there’s a bit of an army of hackers vibe going on and thanks to a recent hands-on with the game, we’ve got plenty more details on what to expect.

The previous game is something of an overlooked gem this generation: Watch Dogs 2’s PC gameplay and tone rivalled even GTA 5 in its best moments, but was swallowed up by the myriad impressive sandbox games that also landed in that time, such as Horizon: Zero Dawn and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Either way, a few years on from the second game, we’re ready for another technologically-enhanced Ubisoft world – as the Watch Dogs Legion release date isn’t too far away, here’s everything we know about the upcoming PC game so far.

Watch Dogs Legion release date

The Watch Dogs Legion release date is October 29, 2020. This revised launch date was announced during the Ubisoft Forward 2020 conference. Watch Dogs Legion was originally set to release on March 6, 2020.

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Watch Dogs Legion trailer

You can catch a glimpse of Ubisoft’s post-Brexit London above from the E3 2019 trailer. One of the main features to be shown off is the game’s central idea that everyone and anyone is recruitable from construction workers to Albion soldiers themselves – all with their own special set of skills and unique drone abilities. In our Watch Dogs Legion preview, we were able to play as a number of recruits including a wealthy spy and a street artist.

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We’ve also had another look at Watch Dogs Legion thanks to the Ubisoft Forward conference – check it out above.

Watch Dogs Legion gameplay

Making its return in Watch Dogs Legion is a selection of non-lethal and lethal weaponry. The game’s predecessor leaned a good bit into the former and saw protagonist Marcus knock people out with a stun gun and that yo-yo thing. That said, there were plenty of deadly and loud weapons on offer if that wasn’t your style, from assault rifles to pistols. And now that we’ve seen everything from nail guns and assault rifles in Watch Dogs Legion gameplay reveals, it’s safe to say you can expect plenty of variety from Watch Dogs Legion’s guns.

A recent gameplay trailer showcases the DedSec army and the ability to switch between characters based on what resources you need, whether that be a hacker with a helicopter-like drone that you can use to escape, or a group that needs taking out with heavy weaponry. Legion is very drone-heavy, it is a Watch Dogs game after all, and you’ll be using these devices to gather intel, ride to different locations, and even attack enemies.

Here some of the characters you can have:

  • Construction worker – has a wrench, nail gun, drone, and access to uniform
  • Street artist – Comes equipped with a paintball gun and paint bomb
  • Drone Expert – Has a shock drone, drone swarm, and hacking abilities
  • Football hooligan – takes less damage and can rally friends to help out in a fight
  • Spy – comes equipped with a fancy car and silencer
  • Anarchist – has a smoke grenade to obscure enemy vision and a bandana to protect against gas
  • Paramedic – access to a uniform and ambulance, could be handy
  • Hitman – able to do instant gun takedowns and dodge, comes equipped with a desert eagle
  • Hacker – hacking abilities, increased hacking cooldown, and ability to deploy and engineer

With Watch Dogs Legion’s concept of building an army in mind, it makes sense that you can play Watch Dogs Legion co-op with up to four friends. Multiplayer enthusiasts can expect dedicated online content with missions and side activities, such as bare knuckle boxing, freestyle football, illegal couriering, and posting street art. According to the game’s website, there will also be “challenging endgame content”, alongside “free regular updates adding new online modes, rewards, and themed events”.

There’s no word just yet on what that’ll all include, but to us it all sounds quite similar to GTA V Online’s suite of activities, which include multiplayer heists that act as endgame content.

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Watch Dogs Legion setting

A Watch Dogs 3 London setting has been touted for some time now since it was teased at the end of the previous game. But this isn’t your typical representation of England’s big smoke: Watch Dogs Legion’s setting is confirmed to be a post-Brexit, dystopian London and it will of course be open world.

According to Hocking, however, Ubisoft decided on London as Watch Dogs Legion’s setting before the Brexit debate kicked off in earnest. That said, the studio has embraced what’s happened, and isn’t shying away from what is, admittedly, a tricky political climate.

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Speaking to PCGN, Hocking explains his stance regarding Watch Dogs Legion’s post Brexit London setting. “Ubisoft as a company has its position,” Hocking says. “But every project has its own operational reality and its own stuff and Ubisoft’s position has a guideline for all of us to follow and our game definitely has something to say and we’re happy to say it.”

It’s not all Brexit, though, and Ubisoft has put a lot of thought into the game’s location design. So big is the Watch Dogs Legion map size that it stretches from Camden to Brixton. If your feet feel weary at the thought of walking that, though, then you’ll be happy to know that there is Watch Dogs Legion fast travel. Of course, the fast travel in the game is represented by the Tube in the London Underground. It is London afterall. If you don’t fancy the tube, however, and want to experience London’s terrible traffic, you can hack and control the city’s infamous black cabs.

And there you have it, that’s everything we could rustle up about Watch Dogs Legions. We’re DedSet (geddit?) against a move away from the hacktivist open-world formula we’ve come to love from the series, but we’re looking forward to this third game taking a turn for the edgy in the green and not-so-pleasant lands of post-apocalyptic Blighty.

Can you run it? Check the Watch Dogs Legion’s system requirements at PCGameBenchmark.