Fairgames Takes Watch Dogs to the Next Level

The highly anticipated PlayStation showcase on May 24 delivered on rumors and provided glimpses of numerous new titles destined for consoles in the future. Fans were treated to a variety of games to enjoy, from the remake of the Konami classic Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater to the announcement of a sequel to the long-overlooked Dragon's Dogma. The show opened with Fairgames, followed by Jim Ryan's welcome to the festivities. The game that left players craving for more shared some striking similarities with another established property: Watch Dogs. This comes at a critical time for both PlayStation 5, which is now at its peak years in the market, and Watch Dogs, which has seen a decline in content and fan interest in recent years. While little is known about Fairgames, the themes of fighting against corruption undoubtedly draw some compelling comparisons to Ubisoft's hacker franchise. It could reinvigorate the idea and attract new audiences, giving fans of the themes presented in Watch Dogs something fresh to be excited about.

Fairgames Looks Like a Fresh Angle on a Familiar Theme

Developers describe Fairgames as a thrilling heist game with a competitive edge, aligning it more closely with Payday than any other game. However, the game's themes of exposing corruption and revealing the truth are reminiscent of Watch Dogs. While Payday 3 is in development, Fairgames may prove to be a closer competitor than any planned Watch Dogs game from Ubisoft. Despite not prioritizing narrative, the game's underlying thread of exposing corrupt higher powers is intriguing. The ideals of Dedsec in Watch Dogs were popular with players, and Fairgames appears to follow a similar path. The audio elements of the trailer also strongly resemble those of Ubisoft's property.

Watch Dogs May Have Been Put Down

Despite the high expectations set for Watch Dogs in its early days, the reality is that it fell short of meeting them. The original release in 2014 did not live up to the hype, while the subsequent release of Watch Dogs: Legion failed to make a lasting impact in a year already filled with successful AAA third-person action games like Ghost of Tsushima, Final Fantasy 7 Remake and The Last of Us 2. As rumors of its retirement circulate, it's clear that Watch Dogs had a lot of potential, but it failed to deliver. However, there may be hope yet with the upcoming project developed by Haven Studios, as it shows signs of reinvigorating the franchise. While more information is needed to know for sure, Fairgames could be the key to breathing new life into this once-promising series.

Fairgames is in development for PC and PS5.