Watch Dogs 3 has been one of the most in-demand Ubisoft sequels for a while now (though nothing compared to a new Splinter Cell, of course), and it’s been in the rumour while for a while as well, with the most recent reports claiming that it’ll be set in London, and be out by the end of the year. Certainly, with Ubisoft recently having confirmed that they’ll be launching three as-of-yet unannounced AAA games before the end of the current fiscal year (so by March 2020), Watch Dogs 3 is looking likelier and likelier.

Now, a new “leak” – if it can be called that – has pulled the lid on more new details from the game. Arising as it is on 4chan (via Reddit), it’s best not to put too much faith into it, but there’s some interesting stuff to peruse in here nonetheless. The leak says, in line with earlier information, that the game is going to be set in London- but not contemporary London, and will instead go for a near-future cyberpunk-style setting. Players will play as a young half-Asian-half-English woman named Sarah.

Sarah works for a counterterrorism organization, specializing in cyber attacks, and is put in charge of infiltrating a hacker network, figuring out the people in charge of it, and ultimately bringing them down. The game won’t allow players to use guns and knives and other lethal weapons, and will instead present only non-lethal options, like tasers and batons.

Parkour is also said to be making a return, and is said to be more fluid, while skateboarding and painting graffiti will also supposedly be side activities. Other side missions will include finding and shutting down drug dens, owing to Sarah’s personal dislike for them, what with her brother having died of an overdose. The game will also see mobs forming dynamically and kicking off riots, and players can either choose to stay out of them or take part in them.

Finally, as per the leak, Ubisoft will be revealing Watch Dogs 3 a couple of weeks before E3 (which will likely be followed by a proper blowout at their own press event, if this does turn out to be true), and will be releasing the game in November of this year.

Once again, given the source the leak comes from, it’s best to take this with a grain of salt. There are overlaps with more credible leaks in the past, but then again, that’s a great way to pass off less believable information as more reliable.

That said, it is very likely that Ubisoft reveals Watch Dogs 3 come June- so stay tune, and we’ll keep you updated on any new info that comes our way.

PlatinumGames’ Game “That Has Never Been Done Before”

There’s a lot going on with PlatinumGames. It’s even developing an exclusive game for Apple’s Arcade platform. Even with these titles in development, studio head Atsushi Inaba confirmed that two of its projects would be “new independent IPs owned entirely by the studio”. Speaking to VideoGamesChronicle, Inaba also said that, “Right now we’re in the middle of designing something that has never been done before. I know a lot of people say that, but the game we’re working on truly is unlike anything else. Even for our varied history of veteran game developers, this is something that has never been designed before.” 2019 is an important all-round year for releases at PlatinumGames but what could make these IPs stand out? Hopefully E3 provides some answers.

Lack of “Looter” Gameplay

Ubisoft has been digging deeper into the action RPG looter gameplay loop for many of its titles. We thought it was confined to Assassin’s Creed Odyssey but Far Cry New Dawn proved otherwise. Now, collecting social media followers by completing whatever objectives and story missions we choose? That’s fine. Trying to min-max different load-outs, having enemies scale with us in level while being somewhat spongy, and different rarities for gear? Leave that to The Division 2, please.

There’s been no shortage of rumours surrounding Watch Dogs 3, and we’ve got another one now that goes into some detail about what to expect from the game. A user over on 4chan has posted a few details about the as-of-yet unannounced title, and some of the changes it will be making over its predecessor.

The rumour says, for starters, that there will be no Assassin’s Creed entry in 2019 – which is something that Ubisoft themselves have actually confirmed before – and that this year will instead see the release of Watch Dogs 3 (much like Watch Dogs 2 filled the void left by Assassin’s Creed’s one year-break in 2016).

Allegedly, Watch Dogs 3 will be set in London- which, too, is something that Ubisoft have hinted at (and none too subtly) in a new ending that they added to Watch Dogs 2 a few months after its launch. Watch Dogs 3 will also allegedly allow players to select their character’s gender, but this won’t impact how the story plays out- so yes, that also means a new protagonist will be front and centre. There is also supposedly going to be a larger emphasis on hacking, as well as more of a focus on smaller firearms and knives for combat.

Usually, it’s a good idea to not put too much stock into rumours originating on 4chan, but there are some outlets who’re corroborating this particular rumour. Gamereactor is reporting that sources have told them that Watch Dogs 3 will indeed be set in London (and that it will have an improved parkour system), while Kotaku’s Jason Schreier is also confirming the London setting over on Twitter (you can see his tweet below).

This would be in line with what Ubisoft said a few days back, about having plans to launch 3-4 AAA titles in 2019. For now though, this remains unconfirmed, but stay tuned to GamingBolt, and we’ll keep you updated in case we come across any new information.

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1099735282650411008

Shadows Die Twice

Teased last year during The Game Awards, Shadows Die Twice immediately drew attention for being a From Software game. Given its macabre showing, we all assumed the obvious – Bloodborne 2. And while that’s a rumour that pops up every now and then, including before last year’s E3, one would assume that this is a brand new IP. Either way, rumours indicate that it will have a “big showing” at a presser, though which one is still a mystery.

Ubisoft may have just accidentally confirmed Watch Dogs 3 .as shown by YouTube channel UbiCentral. Based on the facts pointed out in a video by this channel, it appears that Ubisoft is slowly teasing the next entry into the Watch Dogs series.

First of all, there was Ubisoft’s April Fools joke that was related to hacking and Watch Dogs. Next, there was also a tweet posted by Ubisoft  which referred to the series with the words “This is everything.” The tweet was deleted soon after and this makes it seem like the company is trying to build up excitement around a new Watch_Dogs game. Furthermore, Ubisoft’s gaming assistant AI Sam answers questions regarding Watch_Dogs 3 saying “Watch_Dogs 3 is not finished yet, but from the last early build I tried it’s very solid. The Dev team works wonders! Can’t wait for you to try it!” This suggests that the game is in development and it seems as if Ubisoft has accidentally confirmed the third game in the series.

As of now, the game hasn’t been officially confirmed so take this information with a grain of salt. However, all the signs point to an upcoming new entry into the Watch Dogs series.

It loos like Watch Dogs 2 may have sold well enough after all, because it also looks like a sequel has been greenlit. The newest update for Watch Dogs 2 has apparently added a brand new cutscene to the game which sneaks in a hint about a possible location for the game’s sequel.

The scene, as transcribed by Eurogamer, goes as follows:

Man 1: How much of this is hyperbole? Has it really gone global?

Man 2: There are new DedSec cells popping up everywhere. The Middle East, South America, Europe. And not just them. We can’t even keep up with all the new hacktivist groups.

Man 1: Alright. Make the call.

Man 2: You Sure?

Man 1: Do it.

This would not be the first time that Ubisoft tackles London in an open world action adventure game- previously, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate did that in 2015. However, having a Watch Dogs styled game in modern day London definitely sounds appealing. I just hope they continue to build on the successful revitalization of the series’ gameplay that they started in Watch Dogs 2 with the sequel.