Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed both seem like totally different franchises, but a closer look will reveal a bigger underlying connection between both of them. Just like Marvel's Cinematic Universe, Ubisoft could very well be working on one big game universe with Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs.
With countless Easter eggs between these two franchises, there are a bunch of findings that aren't just references or homages, but proof that Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed indeed take place in the same universe. Apart from the Easter eggs, there are also certain points in the narratives of both franchises where they cross over with each other. With that said, here are ten reasons why Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs take place in the same universe.
10 Similarities In Mechanics Of Both Games
Both the Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs franchise revolve around protagonists who specialize in stealth and sabotage. Aiden, Marcus, along with all members of the brotherhood possess cat-like agility and hunter-silent footsteps that take their enemies by surprise. On top of that, they can go in and out of a building without enemies realizing that something really really bad has just happened. This can suggest that the same training and Assassin bloodline exists between both franchises, and that Dedsec could be the modern-day Brotherhood.
9 Similarities In Plot And Narrative
Assassin's Creed focuses on narratives where Assassins must take down key officials responsible for orchestrating an oppressive movement against the people. From the shadows, the Brotherhood protects the people with an eagle's eye view. Watch Dogs focuses on the same narrative but in a forward age where technology is a central part of everyone's lives. It focuses on a group of 'hacktivists' with a specialized skillset that allows them to steal and tamper with data in the digital age dominated by tech giants. This allows them to intervene in human trafficking rings, drug cartels, illegal data acquisition, and so much more. Hidden and unsung, Dedsec also protects the people from the shadows. All the more proof that Dedsec is the modern-day Brotherhood.
8 Data Shows Abstergo CEO Visiting The Watch Dogs Universe
A folder in the Abstergo computer in Assassin's Creed: Origins contains a copy of the Abstergo CEO, Olivier Garneau's receipt for a meal in Quinkie's—a restaurant of the Watch Dogs' universe. His meal totaled almost $62.
Garneau's visit to the food establishment is evidence that stitches the two games' respective universes together into one cohesive universe. But another piece of data from Origins will reveal more shocking events not only tying the two universes exist together but also showing they both participate in a bigger encapsulating story.
7 Aiden Pearce Kills Olivier Garneau
Olivier Garneau makes an appearance in Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. On his way to a shareholder's meeting in Chicago, the setting for the first Watch Dogs, he mysteriously disappeared and never came back to the Abstergo facility. Melanie Lemay also tells the player that they've received so many security breaches in Abstergo, leading to a concurrent facility lockdown with Garneau's disappearance. Emphasis on 'security breaches.' The breach was later revealed to be caused by Abstergo's own John Standish, an Assassin affiliate. Back in the Watch Dogs universe, it comes as a secret to many gamers that Aiden Pearce takes on a side quest where the target is one Olivier Garneau. In Origins, CCTV footage shows that Aiden indeed did kill Abstergo's CEO.
6 Albion Might Be The Alliance Formed By Blume And Abstergo
Blume is the dominant tech company in Watch Dogs. They are responsible for CTOS, the operating software that's made its way into people's personal lives through lifestyle technology and even city infrastructure. Blume has always preyed on people's private lives in pursuit of valuable data. In Black Flag, it shows that Abstergo has received an email from Blume asking to be their security provider. This proposes an alliance between the two factions. Blume and Abstergo, the templar-owned company, both also happen to be the main villains of their respective franchises. This could indicate a huge enemy alliance in future Ubisoft games. Look at Albion of Watch Dogs Legion for example. An oppressive security firm run by CEO Nigel Cass. Their logo seems to be a modified Abstergo logo. That's saying something.
5 Blume Is Mentioned By Abstergo Employees In Assassin's Creed
In Black Flag, when the player gets close to NPCs in the Abstergo facility, they can be heard mentioning their dissatisfaction working for Abstergo and planning to work instead for Blume.
The mention of a Watch Dogs enemy faction in an Assassin's Creed game further proves that they all take place in the same universe. However, it's not just the Assassin's Creed franchise that shows this. Meanwhile in Watch Dogs:
4 Abstergo Employees Are Everywhere In Watch Dogs
Profiling NPCs will show their name, their occupation, and their salary. Using the profiler will reveal that some NPCs in the Watch Dogs universe indeed are former Abstergo employees. This supplements the Black Flag NPC banter in Abstergo stating that they want to leave the company.
3 Watch Dogs Legion Let's You Play As An Assassin
Besides being able to play as everyone, literally everyone, in Watch Dogs Legion, players will also be able to play as Aiden Pearce, Wrench, and a member of the Assassin's Brotherhood—Darcy. Though her origins are unclear, Ubisoft has acknowledged through Darcy's reveal that this is Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed's crossover. This further shows that the Brotherhood is still operating in the far future after thousands of years of conflict with the templars. This could also suggest that the templars may have a huge role in Watch Dogs Legion.
2 Legion And Syndicate Take Place In The Same London
Both Legion and Syndicate take place in a part of London that surrounds the Thames river. This could suggest that Legion is not just influenced by the events of previous Watch Dogs games, but that Assassin's Creed: Syndicate's story may have a part in it too. This is considering that Syndicate is the most advanced Assassin's Creed game in the timeline, going as far as World War 1.
Another thing, the main villain of Legion, Zero-Day, bears a strong and striking resemblance to Assassin's Creed's Juno. After all, it is revealed that Juno can only exist within information networks across the globe. The perfect target for Dedsec.
1 Legion And Valhalla's Releases Are So Close To Each Other
The latest releases for Ubisoft's two biggest franchises are less than two weeks from each other. This could suggest that Legion and Assassin's Creed: Valhalla are interconnected in some way, and that Ubisoft wants players' memory to be fresh from Legion before jumping into Valhalla. After all the connecting elements that have been established, this further suggests that these two franchises, Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed, both form one huge story thousands and thousands of years in the making. From man's creation to an infinitely far future, these two franchises develop the never-ending battle of order and chaos.