| Watch Dogs 2 | |
|---|---|
 Box art featuring (from left to right) Wrench, Marcus Holloway and Sitara Dhawan | |
| Developer(s) | Ubisoft Montreal[a] |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Director(s) |
|
| Producer(s) | Dominic Guay |
| Designer(s) | Alexandre Pedneault |
| Writer(s) | Lucien Soulban |
| Composer(s) | Hudson Mohawke |
| Series | Watch Dogs |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Watch Dogs 2 is a 2016 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the sequel to 2014's Watch Dogs and the second installment in the Watch Dogs series. It was released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows in November 2016 and for Stadia in December 2020. Set within a fictionalized version of the San Francisco Bay Area, the game is played from a third-person perspective and its open world is navigated on-foot or by vehicle. Players control Marcus Holloway, a hacker who works with the hacking group DedSec to take down the city's advanced surveillance system known as ctOS. There are multiple ways to complete missions, and each successful assignment increases the follower count of DedSec. Cooperative multiplayer allows for competitive one-on-one combat and connecting with other players to neutralize a player who is causing havoc.
Ubisoft Montreal studied player feedback from the first game to assess what could be improved in Watch Dogs 2 and the setting was researched by making frequent trips to California. Ubisoft Reflections was responsible for overhauling the driving mechanic. Real hackers were consulted to validate scripts and game mechanics for authenticity and references to real-life hacktivism were fictionalized, like the Project Chanology protest. The original soundtrack was composed by Hudson Mohawke. The game was released to overall positive reception from critics which praised the game for improving upon the original Watch Dogs in areas like the hacking, setting, characters, and driving controls. However, the characterization and frequent technical issues — later patched — were cited as imperfections. Watch Dogs 2 had sold more than 10 million copies by March 2020. A sequel, Watch Dogs: Legion, was released on October 29, 2020.
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