In Watch Dogs 2, Ubisoft is taking the franchise to San Francisco and focused on a new hero, Marcus Holloway — one who’s armed with powerful computer-hacking abilities that will give players all-new ways to explore and infiltrate its open world. The protagonist is a young and talented hacker who comes under fire after being blamed for a crime he didn’t do. Holloway will join forces with DedSec and use hacking to shut down the invasive operating system, called ctOS 2.0, that is connected to the city’s infrastructure.
Watch Dogs 2‘s version of San Francisco will go beyond the boundaries of the city itself. Players will be able to explore areas like Oakland, Marcus‘ birthplace, and Silicon Valley, where powerful corporations reside and vie for technological control of the city. Ubisoft described Watch Dogs 2‘s version of San Francisco as “the Wild West of technology” and said its simulation of the city should make players feel like it’s alive, even if they do nothing to intervene.
Watch Dogs 2, very much like its predecessor, will see the return of hacking into every citizen’s personal life (sometimes it was TMI) as well as all kinds of things in the city like cranes, drones and security robots. Everything feels as if it’s at your disposal for your hacking pleasure. Marcus‘ varied abilities will give players the option to play entirely with stealth, non-lethally — thanks to a Taser — or with guns blazing. Ubisoft promises to support “all different types of play.”
The game will have a number of factions that the player will contend with, including underground gangs, powerful corporations and competing hacker groups. The ctOS operating system from the first Watch Dogs will return in the sequel, giving players a worldwide network to hack and exploit. Ubisoft promises an expanded version of the seamless online multiplayer from the original game in Watch Dogs 2. Players can simply group up with other members of DedSec they meet as they play the game’s single-player campaign and play cooperatively, the developer said.
Watch Dogs 2 will be out Nov. 15, 2016 on PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One.