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Do You Need to Play Watch Dogs in Order? What Carries Over Between Games

You do not need to play the Watch Dogs games in order, but release order gives the most character context. Ubisoft’s documented carryovers are specific—not progress transfers between numbered games.
WorldOrder? What Carries Over Between Games Length3 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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No. You can start with Watch Dogs: Legion without playing the earlier games first: the series’ basic premise does not require a playthrough in order. For the most context around returning characters, play Watch Dogs, then Watch Dogs 2, then Watch Dogs: Legion. The progress carryovers Ubisoft documents are limited to specific cases; its cited material does not describe campaign saves or general progression transferring between the numbered games.

Do you need to play Watch Dogs in order?

No. Playing earlier entries is not established as a requirement for understanding Legion’s main premise. Ubisoft calls Watch Dogs: Legion the series’ third entry, so release order is the clearest route if you want the series’ context as characters and references recur: Watch Dogs → Watch Dogs 2 → Watch Dogs: Legion. Ubisoft’s franchise overview identifies the third entry; its Bloodline announcement identifies Aiden Pearce and Wrench as returning characters.

If you mainly want to play Legion, you can begin there. The order matters most for character background and connections, not as a prerequisite to start the game.

What carries over between the games?

“Carry over” can mean different things here: keeping progress when moving the same game to a newer console, carrying a trial save into its full game, or using returning characters in Legion. Ubisoft’s cited announcements describe those specific cases—not a general transfer of saves or upgrades from one numbered game to another.

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  • Recruit and play as anyone from London. Everyone you see has a unique backstory, personality, and skill set for unique situations
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  • Upgrade to the Gold Edition or Ultimate Edition for access to the season pass and more
What carries over What it applies to What it does not mean
Cross-generation progress Watch Dogs: Legion when upgrading from the corresponding PS4 or Xbox One version to the next-generation version, as described at launch in October 2020. Progress moving from Watch Dogs or Watch Dogs 2 into Legion.
Trial progress The three-hour Watch Dogs 2 trial transferring to the full version of Watch Dogs 2, as Ubisoft described in January 2017. Progress transferring between the numbered games.
Aiden and Wrench availability Legion: Ubisoft said the Season Pass version of Bloodline let players add the characters to the main campaign or Online roster. Transferring the player’s old saves, upgrades, or character progression from earlier games.

Legion progress across console generations

Ubisoft’s October 29, 2020 launch announcement said players who bought Legion on Xbox One or PS4 could upgrade to the corresponding next-generation version at no additional cost and keep their progress through cross-generation progression. That is a same-title upgrade, not a transfer from another Watch Dogs game. See Ubisoft’s launch announcement for the original platform-specific terms.

Watch Dogs 2 trial progress

Ubisoft said progress made during its three-hour Watch Dogs 2 trial could transfer to the full version of Watch Dogs 2. This is a trial-to-full-game feature within the same title, not a series-wide save system. The announcement is dated January 27, 2017: Ubisoft’s trial announcement.

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  • HACK THE CITY: Control the city's infrastructure, in real time, with Aiden's cell phone; Trap your enemy in a 30 car pileup by manipulating the traffic lights; Stop a train, and then board it to evade the authorities; Narrowly escape capture by quickly raising a drawbridge; Anything connected to the city's CTOS can become your weapon
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Bloodline characters in Legion

Bloodline is a prequel expansion for Legion featuring Aiden Pearce and Wrench. Ubisoft’s July 6, 2021 announcement says the Season Pass version allowed those characters to be added to the main campaign or Online roster. Their availability in Legion is not a transfer of a player’s earlier-game save or progress. Ubisoft’s Bloodline announcement also outlines the expansion’s story.

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Where Bloodline fits in the play order

Bloodline belongs to Legion, rather than being a fourth main-series entry. Its prequel story begins when Aiden visits London to steal a robot-controlling device from Broca Tech. Wrench takes the device, and Aiden is pressured to recover it to protect his estranged nephew, Jackson. The returning characters make the expansion a stronger bridge to earlier games than Legion’s basic premise requires.

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Rank #3
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  • HACK THE CITY: Control the city's infrastructure, in real time, with Aiden's cell phone. Trap your enemy in a 30-car pileup by manipulating the traffic lights. Stop a train, and then board it to evade the authorities. Narrowly escape capture by quickly raising a drawbridge. Anything connected to the city's CTOS can become your weapon.
  • SEAMLESS MULTIPLAYER EXPERIENCE: Discover a new level of interaction, cooperation and confrontation between players thanks to a brand new multiplayer game system that links the single and multiplayer modes into one seamless experience. That means no menus, no loading screens, just instant open world multiplayer action.
  • DYNAMIC NAVIGATION: Watch_Dogs gives you the ability to not only use the city's ctOS to your advantage, but the streets as well. In real-world Chicago, cut through one of the buildings or climb to the rooftops to catch your target.
  • HIGH OCTANE DRIVING: Get behind the wheel of more than 65 vehicles bursting with horsepower to explore the massive city while completing missions. Ubisoft Montreal partnered with Ubisoft Reflections, the acclaimed studio behind the award-winning Driver series to develop each vehicle with state-of-art physics and handling.

If character context is your priority, playing the main games in release order before Bloodline gives you the clearest background for Aiden and Wrench. If you only want to play Legion, you can start with its main campaign; Bloodline is optional expansion content.

Quick Recap

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Watch Dogs Legion (PS5)
  • Open-world London, explore a massive urban open-world where you can visit London's many famous landmarks
  • play as anyone, experience a never-seen-before gameplay Innovation. Anyone you see can join your team complete with a unique backstory, personality, and skill set
  • weaponise London's Tech infrastructure. Hijack armed combat drones, deploy stealthy spider-bots, covertly take down enemies using an augmented reality cloak, and much more
  • bring your team online and join forces with up to three friends and explore the world together or take on entirely new co-op missions
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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