Don’t hold your breath for a new Watch Dogs game anytime soon.
As reported by Game File, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot was asked by an investor about the future of the Watch Dogs franchise. The CEO noted that Ubisoft considers the IP “to be an important brand for the future” but neglected to explain how. Game File’s Stephen Totilo stated that Guillemot suggested that there are no Watch Dogs games in active development at the moment, which suggests Ubisoft may still be figuring out where to take the series from here.
There is a Watch Dogs movie on the horizon, but there’s no word on when it will be released. The film wrapped production two years ago and had reshoots last year, but there hasn’t been any sort of meaningful promotion for the film to date. As of right now, it doesn’t even have a release date, which makes it even more of a mystery.
Watch Dogs made its debut back in 2014, though it was initially meant to launch simultaneously with the PS4 in November 2013. Ubisoft hyped it up as a direct competitor to Grand Theft Auto 5, which released in September 2013. Unfortunately, many felt it was unable to reach some of its ambitions, but it still managed to make a dent in the open-world crime genre. Two years later, Ubisoft launched a much more impressive sequel set in San Francisco, but failed to keep the momentum going with its third installment.
Watch Dogs: Legion was released in 2020, also boasting ambitious ideas, such as the ability to control any NPC in the world. Unfortunately, the game received generally mixed reception from fans. Since then, there have been a lot of question marks around the future of the franchise. It seems Ubisoft wants to do more with Watch Dogs, but it may be trying to figure out how it can separate itself from a game like Grand Theft Auto 6, which is set to shake up the genre in November.
There may be more Watch Dogs games one day, but don’t expect them within the next few years.