Watch Dogs Legion’s London Brings “Insightful Perspective and Commentary” On Modern Day Trends

Creative director Clint Hocking speaks about how Ubisoft is approaching its speculative yet fictional take on a near-future London.

Posted By | On 04th, Aug. 2019

watch dogs legion

As far as Watch Dogs Legion is concerned, things such as being able to play as anyone and the permadeath mechanic going along with that have largely dominated headlines. And rightly so- they’re very exciting features that, if implemented properly, can be an incredible accomplishment. But there’s a lot more in Ubisoft’s upcoming open world title that’s worth getting excited about.

For instance, its near-future cyberpunk setting of a dystopian London. Other than presenting a fascinating backdrop of a city in the grips of an authoritative regime that you’re fighting to overthrow, it’s also looking aesthetically vivid. Recently, while speaking with GamingBolt, the game’s creative director, Clint Hocking, got to talking about Watch Dogs Legion’s London, and how Ubisoft went around designing it with their speculative fiction mindset, blending things that are quite believable with others that are less so.

“We are not specific about the exact year in which the game is set, rather allowing the player to interpret the timing for themselves,” said Hocking. “In creating speculative fiction we look at many different social, political and technological trends and extrapolate them all forward into a fictional future where they all converge in an extreme state.

“As such, some of the things we’re depicting – such as the ubiquity of drones in the world, or the presence of autonomous vehicles – might feel more near future. Conversely, some other things we’re depicting – such as the sophistication of AI – might feel decades away. The purpose was not to make predictions about some future year, but to create a world that is able to bring insightful perspective and commentary on a range of trends we see emerging in the world today.”

Watch Dogs fiddled with a near-future setting back when the first game launched, and took it a step further with Watch Dogs 2’s San Francisco. With the upcoming sequel, it looks like the series is going all in on that cyberpunk aesthetic, and we’re curious to see how it turns out. From all that we’ve seen so far, they certainly seem to be implementing it pretty well.

Watch Dogs Legion is out on March 6, 2020 for the PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia. In this same interview, Hocking also spoke with us about how progression and levelling up will work in the game- read more on that through here. Our full interview with Hocking will also be going live soon, so stay tuned for the entire thing.


Amazing Articles You Might Want To Check Out!

Share Your Thoughts Below  (Always follow our comments policy!)



Keep On Reading!

Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty Have Generated Roughly $750 Million in Revenue

Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty Have Generated Roughly $750 Million in Revenue

In 2023, the action RPG and its expansion raked in roughly $206 million in revenue, CD Projekt has revealed.

The Witcher 4 Has Over 400 Developers Working on it, Still in Pre-Production

The Witcher 4 Has Over 400 Developers Working on it, Still in Pre-Production

Meanwhile, Cyberpunk 2 and Fool's Theory remake of the first Witcher are both in the concept stage of producti...

Predator: Hunting Grounds is Coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in Late 2024

Predator: Hunting Grounds is Coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in Late 2024

Developer IllFonic has taken over publishing for the title, with a new update next month and additional Predat...

Helldivers 2 Patch Fixes Freezes From Arc-Based Weapons and Stratagems

Helldivers 2 Patch Fixes Freezes From Arc-Based Weapons and Stratagems

The new patch ensures the Arc-12 Blitzer, Arc Thrower, and Tesla Tower will no longer cause players' games to ...

Like a Dragon, Judgment Developer is Seemingly Teasing an “Important Announcement” for Monday

Like a Dragon, Judgment Developer is Seemingly Teasing an “Important Announcement” for Monday

But Monday is April Fool's Day, so it could be a whole lot of nothing. Then again, it could be Judgment 3.

Princess Peach: Showtime! Beats Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Rise of the Ronin to Top Weekly Japanese Charts

Princess Peach: Showtime! Beats Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Rise of the Ronin to Top Weekly Japanese Charts

Princess Peach steals the spotlight from both massive, new open world action RPGs in the latest sales charts f...