Watch Dogs: Legion is bringing back the series' original lead character

The Watch Dogs: Legion video that played during today's Ubisoft Forward event didn't really show us anything we haven't seen previously. After the trailer, though, we did get a surprise: Aiden Pearce, the lead character of the original Watch Dogs, will be added to Legion in a post-launch update.

The Watch Dogs Legion season pass, as listed on the Ubisoft support site, will include a new story expansion, four unique heroes, bonus Deadsec missions and a Deadsec car skin, and the original Aiden Pearce experience, Watch Dogs Complete Edition. How exactly he'll fit into the Legions package isn't clear at this point, as live producer Lathieeshe Thillainathan said only that he'll be added to the game at some point after release.

"You asked, and he's back," Thillainathan said. "Older, but not necessarily wiser, Aiden Pearce will be a fully playable character in Watch Dogs Legion as part of our post-launch plans."

The reaction to Pearce's presence appears to be mixed at this point. Some people responding to the announcement on Twitter are clearly enthusiastic, but others are put off by the character's murderous impulses and complete lack of personality. You can get a little taste of his style in the video: It's funny when a granny spy kicks a minimum wage security guard in the junk, but when Pearce has a guy on his knees and then straight-up executes him with a gunshot to the back of his skull, are we still supposed to laugh? 

And some dissenting opinions:

Naturally, there are also plenty of calls to bring back Marcus from Watch Dogs 2, which seems like a pretty good idea to me.

Watch Dogs Legion is set to come out on October 29, and we've got some pre-release impressions for you right here. The full Watch Dogs: Legion segment from Ubisoft Forward is below.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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