Back in 2012, Ubisoft decided to show their fans an incredible new game called Watch Dogs. This game was to start a brand-new IP featuring a protagonist who could hack everything he could see. The first thing gamers noticed about that game was its visuals. Then came the gameplay: a character running around a city, hacking traffic signals and bridges using his cell phone. It looked just incredible.
Ubisoft saw much promise in this new game, and fans were pretty hyped too. This game seemed like one’s ultimate power fantasy had come to life. Eventually, the game was released to a mixed-to-positive response from fans as well as critics. This is how the Watch Dogs franchise started, but no one saw it ending so soon.
Ubisoft is all set to end the Watch Dogs franchise, despite handing it over to a legendary figure
Many fans described Watch Dogs as an Assassin’s Creed game set in modern times. It was in many ways similar; its protagonist was pretty good at parkour, after all. These games also shared how stealth worked in them. The mission structure of these games is pretty similar as well, with missions leading to a story and then a world riddled with numerous side activities and quests.
There was also some controversy involving it. Gamers around the internet noticed that the game Ubisoft showed during E3 and the game that they released did not look similar. It later came out that they had in fact downgraded visuals to make that game easier to run on various platforms without complications.
Then came Watch Dogs 2, a funkier sequel to a very grim game. This sequel gave fans an opportunity to hack San Francisco. With a more active and lovable protagonist and a more vibrant and interactive game world, this game had everything. This game fared much better than its prequel.
Ubisoft once again went back to the drawing board, as they wanted this franchise to be a blockbuster. To help with it, they called none other than Clint Hocking. For those unaware, he is the same guy who directed Far Cry 2.
Eventually, Watch Dogs: Legion was announced, and it was not your straightforward open-world game. In fact, this was an action-adventure open-world game with permadeath as a central feature. Yes, player characters could die forever in this game.
Then how did players complete the game? Well, there was no set protagonist in this game, just a bunch of hackers and more, as players recruited more and more of them every now and then. Each of them varied in abilities and physical stature.
It was an inventive idea, really making good use of its “Legion” name. Made with Ubisoft’s latest graphics technology, it even looked pretty good. But this game did not do the wonders Ubisoft wanted it to. Even the involvement of Clint Hocking did not do it any favors.
The downfall of Watch Dogs as a franchise
Ever since this series saw the light of day back in 2012 during that E3 conference until the launch of Watch Dogs: Legion, this series has had a big issue. There has not been any consistency in these games, either tone-wise or in gameplay mechanics. Each of these games was trying to reinvent the wheel somehow and failing.
Watch Dogs 1 was a grim tale of a man seeking vengeance for the death of a loved one. While its sequel Watch Dogs 2 was a funky game with hipster hackers working to liberate their world of a massive evil. Finally, Watch Dogs: Legion took a more open direction and introduced gamers to a bunch of different characters. Each of those characters gives gamers a different vibe.
Now they have put the Watch Dogs franchise on hold for the time being. Fans might be disappointed by this news, but they must know that this is nothing new for Ubisoft, a company where ambitious projects encounter challenges impacting longevity and fan reception.
They have done this to a bunch of franchises before, like Splinter Cell and Beyond Good and Evil, and one of their oldest successes, Prince of Persia, only got a new installment recently after staying out of sight for years.
