A UK QA tester shares a Watch Dogs 2 screenshot that features gratuitous nudity in-game and is promptly banned from the PlayStation Network as a result.
While Watch Dogs 2 has been widely praised for the changes it has made in location and tone - something that Game Rant's Watch Dogs 2 hands-on missions have emphasized - its release has also been marred by some post-launch problems. Despite early reviews looking promising for what should be a revitalization of Ubisoft's mix of action and stealth, hacking-based gameplay, it looks as though Watch Dogs 2 might follow the recent trend set by Titanfall 2. Both titles have been praised as improvements on their predecessors, while both also look like they might not sell as many copies as their original counterparts.
Perhaps this should have been expected given Watch Dogs 2's disappointing pre-order numbers, but it goes beyond just sales. Watch Dogs 2 seems to be the victim of bad luck that is now trickling down to its playerbase, as a UK QA tester named Adam recently discovered. Adam, while playing the game, discovered a female character model that appeared to be wearing crotchless underwear and decided to upload a screenshot of the NPC to the PlayStation Network. Adam himself describes what happened next on the NeoGAF messageboards:
"I took a picture of this funny oversight with the ingame camera and shared it on twitter...cut to tonight where I can't access any services while playing the game and then when I tried to sign in there was a very brief message about my account being suspended."
That's right - Adam's account was suspended from the PlayStation Network for uploading an in-game representation of female anatomy that was freely presented within Watch Dogs 2's gameplay. While it's a pretty tone-deaf Watch Dogs 2 Easter Egg that was likely meant to be removed before launch, the fact that it exists within the game's code is what troubles Adam the most:
"I'm not looking for justice or a lifting of the ban really...platform holders should handle Community content as games push boundaries of what's acceptable. They're happy to sell these products and use sharing for free promotion."
Essentially, Adam's argument is that developers should work more closely with companies like Sony in ensuring that the content they have in their games doesn't violate any sharing policies that are offered by a given console. It's a good argument, as Adam was merely uploading something he thought was funny and, given its inclusion in the game, something that he thought would be fine to upload using PlayStation Network services.
There's been no word yet on whether Adam's ban will be overturned or the in-game nudity removed, but that's likely the least of Ubisoft's problems right now. Watch Dogs 2's multiplayer is broken at launch, and the developer will be working hard to ensure that the vital feature will be available as soon as possible to ensure review scores and player reception aren't unnecessarily hostile.
Watch Dogs 2 is available now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.