Ubisoft has deployed Watch Dogs: Legion’s standalone zombie mode, Legion of the Dead, in a surprise PC alpha release. The development crew previously teased the new mode in a Watch Dogs: Legion roadmap for summer 2021. Without offering much in the way of concrete details, the roadmap simply noted that a “surprise” would go live alongside the title’s June 1 update.
The June 1 patch, Title Update 4.5, ushers in a few other noteworthy additions, too. Namely, several Quality of Life improvements accompany the previously announced 60FPS “performance mode.” Title Update 4.5 should also allow players in the same console family to join each other online; thus, Xbox One and Series X|S players can team up, while PS4 and PS5 users do the same. Ubisoft additionally plans to issue an August update, which will most notably include the Invasion and Extraction PvP modes. And though Title Update 5.0 lacks a firm release date, developers have said this particular content drop will usher in the release of the long-awaited Bloodline story DLC, as well as Aiden and Wrench’s addition to the main game as playable characters.
Today, June 1, Ubisoft surprise dropped Watch Dogs: Legion of the Dead – a standalone mode currently accessible in a PC alpha via Ubisoft Connect’s “Free Games” tab. A separate mode from the core Legion experience, Legion of the Dead sees London overrun with zombies. Players can either jump in solo or with a group of three other users; regardless, the goal centers on finding the resources stockpiled by Albion soldiers and Clan Kelley enforcers. All gathered supplies will prove instrumental in each person’s attempt to survive the zombie hordes and flee London with their lives.
In a Q&A section on the Ubisoft blog, the development team explained that releasing Legion of the Dead as a PC exclusive for the alpha phase allows for quick patches. This should be especially beneficial given the crew’s desire to frequently iterate on the mode’s offerings. As of writing, there’s no date for a release across other platforms, but Ubisoft does plan on letting console, Amazon Luna, and Google Stadia players join the fun when it’s time for the beta.
Such an update comes as a pleasant surprise. Since the alpha just went live, impressions aren’t known as of yet. As such, how exactly Watch Dogs‘ new zombie-centric mode fares remains a mystery for the time being. It seems as though the developers are fully invested in delivering as solid of an experience as possible, however.
Watch Dogs: Legion hit stores in October 2020 to middling review scores. The latest entry in the franchise notably stumbled early on due to myriad technical issues, the vast majority of which have since been tackled in post-launch updates. With Legion’s online component recently entering the wild, it seems the crew at Ubisoft Toronto has its sights set on exploring other facets of the tech-centric brand.
Watch Dogs: Legion is available to play now on Google Stadia, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S platforms.
