Don’t expect Watch Dogs 2 to incorporate the AR minigames found in the 2014 original; however, if you’re a fan of seamless co-op, there is some good news ahead of the sequel’s release in November.
Speaking with GamingBolt, Game Director Danny Belanger noted that Ubisoft has doubled down on city exploration, and it’s understood that, unlike the Watch Dogs of 2014, the entirety of the map – San Francisco, in this instance – will be playable from the get-go. As a result, AR games such as NVZN and Cash Run won’t be appearing in the upcoming sequel.
“AR games from Watch Dogs are not returning. We are offering more city exploration. So as you’re walking around the city, you’ll open Nethack, and you’ll discover operations and secrets that will unlock side quests if you want.”
One gameplay element that will carry over from the original release is seamless co-operative play, with players holding the ability to call upon a DedSec ally when the going gets tough.
“What I can say today is we’re bringing seamless co-op; we’re going to have seamless hacking so someone can come in your game and hack. Now you’re part of DedSec, so you’re part of a hacker group, so we wanted those hackers to work together. So you can be in your single player game but there’s a DedSec ally that’s walking around the street, and if you want you can just go and press a button and go in co-op. We created operations meant for co-op because they’re challenging, so it’s good to have a buddy.”
Watch Dogs 2 has been slated to release across PS4, Xbox One and PC on November 15, when disenfranchised hacker Marcus Holloway will pick up the mantle – and mobile phone – from Aiden Pearce.