It seems like a lifetime ago that Watch Dogs 2 announced they would be incorporated four-person multiplayer into the open world action, third-person action game, but looks like Ubisoft is finally putting up. And right in time for Independence Day. Best of all – the update is free to everyone with the game.
According to the UbiBlog for Watch Dogs 2, the four-player party mode will act like a four-person freeplay mode. Players can load the game up with friends and do some free-form exploring, or aim for more targeted activities. Ubisoft has cited that these will include: Bounties, Invasions, Loot Trucks, Races, Showdown, Man Vs. Machine Robot Fights and DedSec Virus events.
There is one minor drawback to high-score chasers — the new four-player party mode will be absent from the leaderboard standings. Last but not least, the update will also other quality of life fixes and stability updates that haven’t been detailed. However, players can expect an in-game event for the month of July celebrating America — fireworks will soar over San Francisco and the paintball gun will be restricted to red, white and blue colors.
“It’s something we’ve been thinking about for a long time,” says Watch Dogs 2 producer Kris Young. “It’s always more fun to be in a team, and the online modes we have are great, but we really wanted to expand on them. We also pay attention to what our community is saying, and it’s something they’ve been clamoring for, so we’re happy to finally make it available to everyone.”
How will it work? Players can start a public or private party with room for up to four friends (or strangers, if you use matchmaking). From there, the party is free to explore San Francisco. “The cops will be there. You could try to take down the Red Zones. Everything that’s in the city of San Francisco will be there, so you can immediately have some fun exploring San Francisco with four people” Young says. “Then, at any time, you can launch the activities that support the 4-player Party – Bounties, Invasions, Loot Trucks, Races, Showd0wn, Man VS Machine Robot Fights, and the DedSec Virus events are all available for you to have fun with.”
Young also explains that the 4-Player Party mode is intended to be more about cooperation than competition, so anything that happens in this mode will not affect leaderboard standings.
In addition to the 4-Player Party mode, the latest update will also include some slight fixes and improvements to make the experience of playing with others a little smoother. “Watch Dogs 2 already has a fun world to explore, so we mostly had to do some adjustments and gameplay balances” says Young. “We introduced an option to let you skip the cinematic when you’re using the 3D printer, we know that was kind of frustrating. We also fixed the shuffler takedown move and outfit that some players weren’t able to unlock properly, with a few other stability fixes as well.”
To celebrate this new update as well as the Bay Area’s rendition of Independence Day, Watch Dogs 2 will also hold a special in-game event during the month of July that includes fireworks displays over the city of San Francisco and a festive change to the paintball gun that makes it shoot red, white, and blue pellets.
Watch Dogs 2 is currently available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
