Watch Dogs: Legion - Release Date, Gameplay, and More

This article will serve as a news hub that will be updated as more Watch Dogs: Legion news comes out. Watch Dogs: Legion is the third and upcoming entry to Ubisoft's hacking-filled series. Set in the near future in a fictional version of London where the UK has withdrawn from the EU, the authoritarian government is now using ctOS and a private security company to spy on its citizens and violently enforce the law. Players are tasked with recruiting DedSec members to form a resistance against the corrupt regime using a new mechanic introduced in Watch Dogs: Legion that allows players to assume control and play as anyone in the game. Watch Dogs: Legion is an ambitious game, to say the least, so we've put together everything we know so far, including more about the gameplay.

Release Date

Initially announced for a March 2020 launch at E3 2019, the Watch Dogs: Legion release date has been pushed back to late 2020 to early 2021. Ubisoft co-founder Yves Guillemot told investors the Watch Dogs: Legion delay allows the teams "more development time to ensure that their respective innovations are perfectly implemented so as to deliver optimal experiences for players." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=watch-dogs-legion-e3-2019-reveal&captions=true"] Ubisoft announced it has plans to release five AAA games in 2020-21, three of which are coming by the end of 2020. However, at the time of writing Ubisoft hasn't announced which games it plans to release in this timeframe. Additionally, it has been confirmed by Ubisoft that Watch Dogs: Legion will be a cross-generation game, meaning it'll be released on the Xbox Series X, PS5, Xbox One, and PS4.

Gameplay

Watch Dogs: Legion is an open world action-adventure game that takes place in a fictional post-Brexit version of London. The city has been taken over by a private security group called Albion, who have used the Blume Corporation's central operating system, or ctOS, to turn London into a surveillance state. It'll be up to you to recruit a group of hackers to join DedSec and regain control of the city. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/10/watch-dogs-legion-preview"] IGN's Matt Purslow visited Ubisoft Toronto to meet with the team behind Legion and watch the game being played for 45 minutes. In his preview, he said, "At first glance, Legion is what you'd expect from the third game in the Watch Dogs series; there's an open-world where you can drive cars, hack CCTV cameras, and play havoc with people's lives and smartphones. But there's so much more to Watch Dogs: Legion. Underpinning the entire game is an interconnected network of systems that allow for an astonishing set of possibilities." One unique feature about Watch Dogs: Legion is that there isn't a main character per se. Players will be able to play as any character they want and work to recruit that character to join DedSec. Each random character will have a unique set of skills and their own backstory that will play into how they contribute to the resistance. Any decision you make can impact a character's support of DedSec. For example, if you complete missions to help that character, they are more likely to join the resistance. Alternatively, if a member of DedSec accidentally (or purposely) kills a character's family member, they are more likely to oppose the hacktivist group. Watch Dogs: Legion will have both a single-player mode and an online co-op mode where players can play online with up to three friends to "take on entirely new co-op missions and challenging end-game content." For more on Legion's focus on personal privacy, take a look at our feature on how social media has shaped the Watch Dogs series. Additionally, make sure to check out the full list of traits and perks available to recruitable Operatives in the game. Oh, and unlike Watch Dogs 2, Legion will not actually have any dogs.

Editions

There are currently four different Watch Dogs: Legion editions available for preorder — the Standard Edition, Gold Steelbook Edition, Ultimate Edition, Collector's Edition. The Standard Edition is available for $60 and includes the base game and the Golden King Pack, which is a set of three skins. On the other hand, the Gold Steel Book Edition will cost $109 and comes with a steelbook case, the Golden King Pack, a season pass, and three days of early access before launch. Players can also preorder the Ultimate Edition which comes with everything the Gold Steelbook edition has, plus an Urban Jungle Pack and four weeks of VIP Status. The Watch Dogs: Legion Collector's Edition can be purchased for $189 and includes everything from the other editions, plus an in-game mask and some cool physical items like an exclusive steelbook, a double-sided propaganda poster, a mask, stickers, and a special Collector's Edition box. Check out our Watch Dogs: Legion preorder guide for more on the different editions and where you can get them. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Andrew Smith is a freelance contributor with IGN. Follow him on Twitter @_andrewtsmith.