Top Hackers Get a Free Copy of Watch Dogs 2
By Kyle Sledge 05 September 2016
Publisher and developer Ubisoft offers a free copy of its forthcoming open world title Watch Dogs 2 to the winners of a North American hacking competition.
With Watch Dogs 2‘s story focusing on a hacktivist group known as Dedsec in a San Francisco setting, it only makes sense for the forthcoming game’s creators to team up with a real world organization dedicated to the actual education and awareness of cyber-security skills in order to promote the title. As it happens, Ubisoft has now formed a partnership with an outfit known as Major League Hacking that hosts, sponsors, and advertises a series of hacking competitions, and the developer will be giving free copies of Watch Dogs 2 to teams who win at this year’s event.
According to Major League Hacking, the challenge to win Watch Dogs 2 is geared toward “design[ing] a project to demonstrate just how easy data privacy can be compromised on real-life smart devices.” Since the game’s protagonist Marcus Holloway primarily uses his phone to infiltrate and control other technological devices such as cameras, stop lights, drones, security robots, as well as cars, the theme of the competition is apropos.
Furthermore, Major League Hacking will also be holding a competition inspired by the Capture the Flag game mode at each hackathon, with Ubisoft giving a copy of Watch Dogs 2 and a trip to Montreal for a meet and greet with the title’s developers to the person with the fastest time. Those interested in taking part in this year’s hackathons can find the competitions closest to them and the schedules for the Major League Hacking events right here.
Watch Dogs 2‘s tie-in with Major League Hacking’s events isn’t the first instance of Ubisoft promoting its games in an unconventional way. As a matter of fact, just prior to the release of its first-person action-adventure title Far Cry Primal, the company held a contest in which winners would not only win a copy of the prehistorically-themed release, but also gave them the opportunity to spend a day and night camping out in an actual cave in the Pyrenees.
Beyond Ubisoft’s marketing team doing a solid job of incorporating real world inspirations into the promotions for its games, Watch Dogs 2 itself seems to be poised as a superior follow-up to the original entry in the franchise. As our preview at E3 2016 details, the game injects a breath of fresh air into the techno-driven conceit of the series, with new setting, hacking options, and co-op features making for a more enjoyable experience than its grittier, and more poorly executed precursor.
Speaking of which, fans who have yet to dive into all of Watch Dogs 2‘s playable aspects and wish to do so would do well to start with the most recently released multiplayer trailer, as it covers many of the updated game mechanics. Of course, should one be swayed by the what they see, Ubisoft is planning to put out lots of different Special Editions for Watch Dogs 2 so as to cater to those with varying levels of interest in the title.
Watch Dogs 2 is set to release on November 15, 2016 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Source: Major League Hacking (via GamesRadar)
