Watch Dogs is Ubisoft's open-world franchise focused on hacking, all taking place in a sprawling technology-focused city. The Watch Dogs series is now set up to be the backdrop for a brand-new manga series, utilizing the varied setpieces for a spin-off story set in the same universe.
Watch Dogs: Legion takes places in London, which was a departure from the American cityscapes seen in previous games but stays true to the hacking focus. Therefore, moving the action abroad seemed the logical next step for manga artist Kamo Syuhei and Shirato Seiichi, both working with Ubisoft. The manga series will be set in Tokyo, continuing the story of corrupt corporate takedown from determined hackers evading surveillance.
The manga series has been titled "Watch Dogs Tokyo" to emphasize the change in location and culture compared to Chicago and London. The plot synopsis will be about "a special new infrastructure system from a company called Bloom Japan used by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to change people's lives." It is currently unknown if the previous protagonist of Watch Dogs Aidan Pearce will be making an appearance, but the mention of villainous conglomerate Blume Corporation is enough to hint at the manga's connection to the games.
Shirato Seiichi, who previously worked on the Princess Principal anime series, is the author bringing the series to life. This will mark the first Watch Dogs story that doesn't take place in an English-speaking region, allowing for more possibilities. The Watch Dogs franchise has dabbled with publishing comics before as there was a comic book tie-in to the Watch Dogs Legion Bloodline DLC.
Other than the initial announcement, not much is known about what else will be in the manga content-wise. The ending of Watch Dogs Legion was suitably bittersweet after all the assassinations and top-scale hacking, but continuing the completed character arcs in a new location could prove to be difficult. It isn't even confirmed yet that there will be an English translation for Watch Dogs Tokyo, but it is likely that the series' international popularity will result in fans reaching out with translation requests.
Since Ubisoft has stopped updating Watch Dogs Legion and there are no new releases on the horizon, the time is right for separate content to accompany the series. The manga will be released on April 12 via the Kurage Bunch website, with numerous issues to follow that will add more to the world of Watch Dogs.
Watch Dogs Legion is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.