Ubisoft kicked off its E3 2019 presentation with anAssassin’s Creedconcert, but then it quickly got to the gameplay with thefirst footage ofWatch Dogs Legion. The footage showed players controlling a variety of characters exploring an open world London, England, revealing a surprising new gameplay feature in the process.
It was revealed during Ubisoft’s E3 2019 press conference thatWatch Dogs Legionwill have permadeath for player characters. In the gameplay presentation, we saw a player character attempt to save a new recruit named Jimmy, only to get killed for his efforts. Instead of a game over screen,Watch Dogs Legionshowed a character select screen listing all the other playable characters that had been recruited so far.
By the end of the gameplay presentation atUbisoft’s E3 2019 press conference, we saw a new character named Jimmy Shaw recruited to the cause, givingWatch Dogs Legionplayers yet another new playable character to choose from. It was confirmed thatWatch Dogs Legionplayers will be able to recruit and play as literally any of the civilian NPCs in the game.
The Londoners inWatch Dogs Legionall have their own programmed lives and origin mission. Cut-scenes will change depending on who the player has recruited, which should allowWatch Dogs Legionplayers to customize the experience to their liking. For example, they can make it so DedSec is full of hipsters, or they can recruit an entirely female team if they’d like. Really it’s up to the player’s preference.
This recruiting and permadeath system sounds pretty ambitious, and it will be interesting to see in action. It’s also unclear what will happen ifWatch Dogs Legionplayers end up killing all of the player characters in the game, as they aren’t randomly generated but instead all given their own unique, specifically-designed lives.
More information onWatch Dogs Legion’s permadeath and how exactly it will work should come to light in the coming days as people go hands-on with it at E3 2019.
Watch Dogs Legionwill launch on July 16, 2025 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
