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After a pair of award-winning presentations two E3s in a row, Watch Dogs easily became the most anticipated next-gen third-party launch title last year with a release date set for October, just in time for the releases of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It was big, shiny, new, and different. At the last minute however, Ubisoft decided to hold off on releasing the game and it never made it out in time for the key holiday sales window. PS4 owners sadly looked on at the box their new console came in which shows Watch Dogs protagonist Aiden Pearce on the back.

After seeing the latest Rayman, Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell games all delayed, it wasn't that much of a surprise, and although having more game development is always better for the actual quality of the game, we all just really wanted to play it. We found out in February that Watch Dogs would release in the first half of 2014, sometime between April and June, with the Wii U version coming sometime later. Now we have the official date, announced in the new Watch Dogs story trailer up top.

First, let's talk about the Watch Dogs release date which makes it out to retail just before E3 2014.

May 27 2014

Getting the game out before E3, when other games and new announcements will dominate headlines, is extremely important. The other side of that is the fact that Ubisoft showcased Watch Dogs at two E3 shows already, and a third would be overbearing and a little worrisome, and worse, it would get lost in the shuffle - even from Ubisoft's own other games. Last year for example, The Division impressed us more than Watch Dogs and this E3 will have more of that game, a new Assassin's Creed and perhaps even a few other new IPs.

As for the story trailer, the main plot of Watch Dogs remains mostly a mystery but we do have a good understanding of Aiden Pearce's goals and motivations. The trailer above gives us a little more of some of the allies our vigilate protagonist meets and works with along the way, but his enemies we still know little about. The best part of the trailer however, is that despite the action and violence, it's his smartphone that represents Aiden's most powerful and useful tool.

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Stay Tuned For Our Hands-On Preview!

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Watch Dogs will be available for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One on May 27, 2014.

Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes.