Watch Dogs Multiplayer Modes Explained

Ubisoft has officially revealed the competitive multiplayer modes available for their highly anticipated new open-world game.

According to Gary Steinman, communications manager at Ubisoft, if we were to ask anyone on the Ubisoft Montreal development team about Watch Dogs’ Multiplayer gameplay, they’re most likely going to kindly correct you with the phrase ‘seamless multiplayer experience’. Observing the footage, you can appreciate their correction, it’s certainly not a multiplayer as we typically understand it. Forget the lobbies and the leader boards segregating you from your single player campaign, Watch Dogs blends the multiplayer gameplay with your single player experience. Perfectly fitting for a game claiming that it’s key concept is based upon everything being connected.

‘I’m not a huge fan of multiplayer, can I switch it off?’ - Yes, you can switch off the online multiplayer within the main menu of the game. However, you’ll also be comforted to know that the game will naturally switch off multiplayer experiences when entering missions or any other activities where additional players would be deemed intrusive. In other words, we can only expect to be invaded by other playings during free roam. And, what’s more,
is that the game adapts alongside the players behavior, the less that a player partakes in hacking into other players’ games, the more that the game will recognize that you’re not into that style of gameplay and limit your involvement with the multiplayer experiences. Problem solved.

‘So if I Aiden Pearce hack into another game where he/she is also Aiden Pearce are we... both Aiden Pearce?’ - In short, yes. All players will see themselves as Aiden Pearce on the screen, however to the other person within your game, or alternatively to the player whose game you have entered, your appearance will be randomly selected from the pool of NPC’s. 



‘What rewards can I gain from the the multiplayer game modes?’ - Participating in multiplayer activities will contribute towards your Notoriety rating, which is basically a measure of your fame, or your ranking as a hacker. Your rating will raise up and down depending upon your activities and allows you to gain certain skills.

Online Hacking Contracts 



These online hacking contracts allow players to compete in a hacker vs hacker game mode, where one player enters another players game by joining an open contract. Once this game begins, the first player must find and hack into the opposing characters data within a limited time period, whilst this player tracks down the hacker and kills them before their data is lost. Remember that the enemy player entering the game will appear as a standard NPC and so visually will appear just like all of the other citizens within the city and must be detected based on behaviors. This game can end in one of either two ways, the hacker entering the game mode is caught and punished, with this player gaining notoriety points for successfully tracking the hacker, or the hacker has escaped from the opposing player of which they gain notoriety points equivalent to the amount of data they were able to seize.

CtoS Mobile Companion App 



This game mode pits one console wielding Watch Dogs fan against a mobile user who has access to the Free CtoS Mobile Companion App. Within this game, the console player must compete within a time trial race whilst being chased by a helicopter controlled by the mobile user. The console user must race the streets and reach the checkpoints within the time period whilst avoiding the disruptions of the mobile player. Not only does the mobile user have access to the helicopter but they also have full control over the police and any other object within the game that is capable of being hacked, allowing them to raise barriers, explode steam pips and cause traffic chaos with the tap of a screen.

Competitive Decryption Combat 



This final game announced from Ubisoft adds a new twist to your standard Capture the Flag style game mode. Players are split into teams with the objective of stealing and decrypting a file, with the first team to decrypt the file marked the winner. Both teams can use the environment to their advantage by generating distractions and creating cover for themselves by hacking the objects surrounding them. Keep your team mates close during this game mode, as the closer you are to one another the higher boost you’ll receive in decryption speed.

For a full walkthrough to these multiplayer modes, take a look at the gameplay in the footage below:

Watch Dogs release date is set for May 27 on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, with a Wii U release date following this autumn.

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