After a bit of a rocky start, Ubisoft seems to have managed to turn Watch Dogs: Legion around and the game has received a lot of extra content in the post-launch period. Now, the developers are giving players who are interested but aren't quite committed to buying the game a chance to try Watch Dogs: Legion out for free.
From September 3-5, gamers can experiment with hacktivism, battle the forces of oppression and control, and do their best to free near-future London from the grasp of totalitarianism--in other words, they can try the recently updated Watch Dogs: Legion on all platforms. If new players enjoy their time with the Preload, Watch Dogs: Legion will also be on sale for PC, Stadia, and PlayStation.
The decision to offer a game about fighting for freedom, safety, and technological justice for free makes a degree of thematic sense. While the corporate villains of Watch Dogs: Legion are usually involved in far worse than boosting the prices of video games, it is clear that gaming is becoming a more expensive hobby, and Ubisoft's choice may encourage more players to give the Watch Dogs series a chance. Fans might find it fitting that Watch Dogs: Legion's messages about hacktivism, activism, and taking back one's city from corporate control are currently being distributed for free by a large gaming company.
However, as several users pointed out under the official Twitter announcement post from the developers, two days isn't really enough time to finish a game as large as Watch Dogs: Legion. This free trial may be a good way for players to try the game out, but they're unlikely to complete it, meaning they will have to shell out for the full game if they want to keep playing. Fortunately, it's on sale at the moment, and save progress from the Preload can be carried over to a purchased version Watch Dogs: Legion, even on next-gen platforms.
As of writing, it appears that fans of the Watch Dogs series are more interested in discussing flaws, bugs, and possible fixes for the game than they are engaging with the free trial period announcement. Only a few users commented under the tweet with plans to play the game for free, with the other responses being targeted at recent updates, perceived bugs, or discussing how long it takes to beat the game. Another user ended up mourning the fact that Xbox players are not included in the free trial period.
Watch Dogs: Legion is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.