‘Watch Dogs 2’ Will Be At E3, Ubisoft Lays Out Plans For ‘Ghost Recon’ And More

The question over when gamers will see a sequel to Watch Dogs for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC has been answered. Ubisoft confirmed Watch Dogs 2 will make its debut at E3 in two weeks during the publisher’s press conference. It will be joined by a lineup of other games such as For Honor and Ghost Recon: Wildlands along with “some surprises.”

The Ubisoft 2016 E3 conference will take place on Monday, June 13, at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT. Actress and comedian Aisha Tyler (Archer, Whose Line is it Anyway?) will play host once again as the conference is broadcast live on Ubisoft’s website, YouTube channel, and Twitch channel.

The original Watch Dogs debuted four years ago during Ubisoft’s E3 2012 press conference, and wowed attendees with impressive next-gen graphics and gameplay, featuring the character’s ability to “hack” into a Chicago city-wide security system to look up information about other characters and use the city’s own defenses against it.

The game was eventually delayed to a 2014 release, where it was heavily criticized in the gaming community for a graphical downgrade from its E3 2012 debut. Matters were made worse when the original graphics features were found buried in the PC version’s files. It ultimately received decent review scores per review aggregator Metacritic, and was a big enough commercial success to warrant a sequel.

Ubisoft confirmed Watch Dogs 2 during its February financial earnings release, with a planned release for its 2017 fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2017. This means the sequel could hit either this holiday or early next year. Holiday 2016 is a prime target, though, with the Assassin’s Creed franchise taking a break this year.

Other planned games to be showcased during Ubisoft’s E3 conference include the sword battling For Honor, open world first-person shooter Ghost Recon: Wildlands, comedic RPG South Park: The Fractured But Whole, and virtual reality multiplayer title Eagle Flight. The four titles will also be in attendance at Ubisoft’s E3 booth. It’s unconfirmed if all will be playable.

Of the four games confirmed for E3, For Honor and South Park debuted during the publisher’s E3 2015 conference. Their release prior to April, 2017, appears assured. Meanwhile, Ghost Recon: Wildlands changes the franchise formula slightly by taking place in a modern setting versus a near-future setting of previous entries. Additionally, the game features an open world environment for the first time. It sends players to Bolivia to fight an undercover war against the Santa Blanca drug cartel, and features both single-player and co-op with up to three other players.

“E3 is always a very special moment when everyone in the entertainment business does their best to amaze and engage gamers. For Ubisoft’s teams, it’s a period of pride and of anxious anticipation because they are finally showing off the games they’ve poured so much passion into, and receiving feedback from players and peers. Our industry has evolved so much in the past 30 years, but what hasn’t changed is my love and respect for the limitless passion and talent of developers and players alike,” said Yves Guillemot, co-founder and CEO, Ubisoft. “The video game industry continues to enjoy strong momentum, with powerful new platforms that enable more creativity, expression and imagination. More than ever, video games are showing how they will shape the future of entertainment. I can’t wait to be at E3 and see what the future has in store.”

What do you think of Ubisoft’s E3 plans and confirmation of a Watch Dogs 2 reveal? Sound off in the comments below.

[Image via Ubisoft]