14 DAY TRIAL // Watch Dogs is almost certainly getting a sequel, and Ubisoft has pledged that it won't rush things, as it wants to give it extra time, just like it did with Assassin's Creed 2, in order to really polish the whole experience and franchise.
Watch Dogs was one of Ubisoft's biggest bets of the year, with the French publisher pooling together resources from its global studios and even going so far as to delay the release in order to give the developers extra polishing time.
The gamble paid off, as Watch Dogs went on to become the fastest-selling new game in the history of the industry, at least according to Ubisoft, so you can bet that a sequel is now underway.
However, Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot believes that the process shouldn't be rushed, as with Watch Dogs 2, the company wants to have a similar process to Assassin's Creed 2.
"To start with we will take time on Watch Dogs, to make sure – like with Assassin’s Creed 2 – we can come back with something that takes full advantage of what everything we created to do with the first game," Guillemot told MCV.
Assassin's Creed 1 appeared back in 2007 and, while successful, had quite a few rough aspects, from the repetitive missions to the rather simple mechanics. With Assassin's Creed 2 in 2009, Ubisoft mended everything and kicked off a yearly franchise that shows no sign of slowing down in terms of popularity and sales.
Guillemot emphasizes that the development teams ultimately decide how fast a process can go, meaning it will take a bit of time before everything gets on track for yearly iterations.
"After that, we will see, it depends on our teams. What we try and do is have different teams that take care of a brand, and give each team enough time. So I can’t say now if it will be an annual release, we will see in time how it works out depending on the overall ability of the very talented teams that look after the brand."
The Ubisoft boss also noted that the game had great results and has plenty of potential in terms of popularity and sales, not to mention actual content, as the hacking mechanic can be explored in many great ways.
"Watch Dogs did a lot better than we expected sales wise. And we are still tweaking some things in the gameplay in some areas. We have built some tools and processes that could make it a huge brand for the company. And the subject of hacking is endless in possibilities, so we think there’s big potential to astonish people in the long-run."
Considering the precedent set by Assassin's Creed, it's possible that a Watch Dogs 2 might appear in 2016.