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Start with Watch Dogs, then play Watch Dogs 2, followed by Watch Dogs: Legion. That release-order route introduces Aiden Pearce, lets you meet Wrench before he returns in Legion’s Bloodline story, and shows how the series changes from one main character to a recruitable resistance. Choose Legion first only if its “Play as Anyone” system and London setting matter more to you than that character and series context.
The short ranking for a newcomer
This is a practical starting-order recommendation, not an objective review score. Ubisoft’s official material establishes the games, their place in the series and their headline features, but it does not provide a neutral best-to-worst ranking. Use the table to match your priority to an entry.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Watch Dogs: Legion Xbox Series X S, Xbox One Standard Edition | $8.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Watch Dogs 2 - PlayStation 4 | $23.11 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Watch Dogs xbox one | $9.49 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Watch Dogs Legion (PS4) | $8.46 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Watch Dogs Legion: Resistance Report | $14.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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| Order | Game | Choose it first if you want… | Continuity value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Watch Dogs | The original series starting point and Aiden Pearce’s story. | Aiden returns in Watch Dogs: Legion – Bloodline. |
| 2 | Watch Dogs 2 | The natural follow-up after the first game and an introduction to Wrench. | Wrench returns in Bloodline. |
| 3 | Watch Dogs: Legion | Recruiting a roster of London residents and choosing different resistance members. | Bloodline connects back to Aiden and Wrench. |
If you only plan to play one, the decision is between the original Aiden-led story and Legion’s recruit-and-play premise. If you expect to play the trilogy, release order avoids backtracking and gives every returning character context when they reappear.
1. Watch Dogs: the best default starting point
The first Watch Dogs is the safest recommendation for someone asking, “Which Watch Dogs should I play first?” It is the series’ starting point and establishes Aiden Pearce, whose later appearance gives the first game a direct link to Legion’s Bloodline expansion. Starting here also means you encounter the franchise’s original approach before deciding whether its later changes suit you.
#1 Best Overall
- Recruit and play as anyone from London Everyone you see has a unique backstory, personality, and skill set for unique situations
- Hack armed drones, deploy spider-bots, and take down enemies using an Augmented Reality Cloak
- Explore a massive urban open world featuring London’s many iconic landmarks and fun side activities
- Team up with your friends as you complete co-op missions and unique game mode
- Upgrade to the Gold Edition or Ultimate Edition for access to the season pass and more
Ubisoft says the first game gathered more than 40 million players worldwide. That figure appears on Ubisoft’s current franchise page and is a player count, not a claim about copies sold or current active players. See Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs franchise overview.
Who should begin here?
- Players who want to follow the main entries in release order.
- Readers interested in Aiden before meeting him in Bloodline.
- Anyone who prefers to understand the series’ original premise before trying its later structural experiments.
Which edition matters?
Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs Complete Edition combines the base game with Season Pass material. Ubisoft lists the T-Bone campaign, additional missions, weapons, outfits and a new game mode among the included content. The exact bundle and storefront label can change, so check the edition page for the platform you intend to use: Watch Dogs Complete Edition.
There is an important compatibility restriction: Ubisoft states that downloadable content bought through Ubisoft.com or Ubisoft Connect is compatible only with base games purchased through Ubisoft.com or Ubisoft Connect. Do not assume that a Ubisoft-store DLC entitlement will attach to a base game bought from a different retailer or platform storefront.
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- HACK EVERYTHING Every person, vehicle and connected device can be hacked. Take control of drones, cars, cranes, and more to use them as your weapon
- CONNECT WITH FRIENDS Play Co op and Player vs. Player activities in a seamless shared world
- YOU ARE IN CTRL Develop your skills and combine hacking, weapons and stealth to complete missions in ways that suit your playstyle
2. Watch Dogs 2: the natural second game
Watch Dogs 2 is the logical follow-up once you finish the original. It is the second main entry, so playing it next preserves the series’ progression without asking you to jump ahead to the recruit-based structure of Legion. Its strongest continuity reason is Wrench: Ubisoft identifies him as a returning character in Bloodline, making his earlier appearance more meaningful if you have already played the second game.
The official Watch Dogs 2 page confirms the game and its available editions, but the supplied official material does not establish a defensible numerical quality score against the other entries. Treat “second” here as play order, not a verdict that it is universally better or worse than the first game. Details and edition names are listed by Ubisoft at Watch Dogs 2 on PC and more.
Who should move to Watch Dogs 2 next?
- Players who want the complete main-series sequence.
- Anyone who wants to know Wrench before his Bloodline appearance.
- Newcomers who would rather experience the franchise’s changes in the order they were introduced.
You can technically skip to Legion; the recommendation to play this game first is about context and progression, not an official access requirement.
Rank #3
- HACK THE CITY: Control the city's infrastructure, in real time, with Aiden's cell phone. Trap your enemy in a 30-car pileup by manipulating the traffic lights. Stop a train, and then board it to evade the authorities. Narrowly escape capture by quickly raising a drawbridge. Anything connected to the city's CTOS can become your weapon.
- SEAMLESS MULTIPLAYER EXPERIENCE: Discover a new level of interaction, cooperation and confrontation between players thanks to a brand new multiplayer game system that links the single and multiplayer modes into one seamless experience. That means no menus, no loading screens, just instant open world multiplayer action.
- DYNAMIC NAVIGATION: Watch_Dogs gives you the ability to not only use the city's ctOS to your advantage, but the streets as well. In real-world Chicago, cut through one of the buildings or climb to the rooftops to catch your target.
- HIGH OCTANE DRIVING: Get behind the wheel of more than 65 vehicles bursting with horsepower to explore the massive city while completing missions. Ubisoft Montreal partnered with Ubisoft Reflections, the acclaimed studio behind the award-winning Driver series to develop each vehicle with state-of-art physics and handling.
3. Watch Dogs: Legion: the choice for recruit-and-play fans
Ubisoft calls Watch Dogs: Legion the third entry in the series. Its defining advertised innovation is “Play as Anyone”: you can assemble a resistance roster from London residents instead of staying with one permanent protagonist. Ubisoft describes the system this way:
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“Groundbreaking” is Ubisoft’s wording, not an independent review conclusion. The practical implication is clear: if selecting and rotating different playable London residents is the feature that interests you most, Legion is a reasonable first choice even though it is third in release order.
Rank #4
- Open-world London, explore a massive urban open-world where you can visit London's many famous landmarks.
- Play as anyone, experience a never-seen-before gameplay innovation. Anyone you see can join your team complete with a unique backstory, personality, and skill set.
- Weaponize London's tech infrastructure. Hijack armed combat drones, deploy stealthy spider-bots, covertly take down enemies using an Augmented Reality Cloak, and much more.
- Bring your team online and join forces with up to three friends and explore the world together or take on entirely new co-op missions
Who should start with Legion?
- Players whose main attraction is recruiting a varied resistance roster.
- Anyone specifically seeking a London setting.
- Readers who want to play the newest main entry first and are comfortable learning earlier character context later.
Legion also offers a continuity route through its Bloodline story. Ubisoft’s post-launch announcement brings back Aiden Pearce from the original game and Wrench from Watch Dogs 2. Playing the earlier entries first lets you recognize both characters and understand why their return matters; starting with Legion does not prevent you from enjoying the story, but it removes that buildup. The returning-character details are in Ubisoft’s announcement: Watch Dogs: Legion – New Story Details and Post-Launch Plans Revealed.
Legion editions and older launch information
Ubisoft’s launch materials for the Gold Edition described Season Pass content including story expansions, extra missions, playable heroes and the original Watch Dogs Complete Edition. Those details come from the 2020 launch announcement, not a guarantee that the same edition name, contents or availability applies today. Confirm the current product page, platform and storefront before buying: Ubisoft’s Legion launch announcement and the current Legion game page.
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Choose release order when context is your priority
- Play Watch Dogs to meet Aiden Pearce in his original role.
- Play Watch Dogs 2 to encounter Wrench before his later return.
- Play Watch Dogs: Legion, then its Bloodline story, with both connections established.
This route is an editorial recommendation based on the characters and entry order identified by Ubisoft. It is not an official mandatory sequence, and you do not need to finish one game to unlock the next.
Best Value
Choose Legion first when its system is the point
If “Play as Anyone” is the reason you are interested in the franchise, beginning with Legion is sensible. You get the recruitable London-resident roster immediately rather than waiting through two earlier games for the series to reach that structure. You can then go back to the first two games if Aiden or Wrench make you curious about their origins.
The trade-off is narrative context, not basic comprehension. Legion is identified as the third entry, and Bloodline explicitly uses returning characters; earlier games supply their background, while a Legion-first route treats that history as something you can discover afterward.
Compare the games by the decision that actually matters
| Your deciding question | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Do I want the original protagonist and starting point? | Watch Dogs | It begins the series and introduces Aiden Pearce. |
| Do I want to follow the main entries and know Wrench before Bloodline? | Watch Dogs 2 after the first | It is the second entry and establishes Wrench’s earlier appearance. |
| Do I want to recruit and switch among London residents? | Watch Dogs: Legion | “Play as Anyone” is its advertised central innovation. |
| Do I want bundled extra story content? | Check the relevant Complete, Gold or Season Pass edition | Ubisoft lists different included content; names and availability vary by storefront and date. |
These comparisons describe features and continuity. The official pages do not establish a neutral score that proves one game is the best overall.
Buying and platform checks before you start
- Confirm the platform. Ubisoft’s product pages use platform-specific edition information, and availability can differ by storefront.
- Check the exact edition contents. Complete and Gold labels may refer to different bundles, and older launch descriptions are not a promise of current stock or naming.
- Keep DLC and base-game storefronts aligned. Ubisoft’s compatibility warning applies when DLC is purchased through Ubisoft.com or Ubisoft Connect.
- Do not rely on an old price. The cited official pages confirm games and editions but do not establish current retail prices, physical stock or affiliate terms.
Why online recommendations disagree
Players often use “ranked” to mean two different things: a quality ranking based on personal taste, or an order that makes sense for a newcomer. The question “I wanna play in watch dogs, but idk which i should start first” appears in a public r/watch_dogs discussion. That post is an individual reader question, not representative audience research, so it cannot establish a universal winner.
For this guide, “ranked” means recommended starting order. Release order wins because it supplies the most continuity with the least explanation. Legion wins only for the narrower preference of wanting its recruitable-roster design immediately.
Final recommendation
Buy or start Watch Dogs first, continue with Watch Dogs 2, and finish with Watch Dogs: Legion. That sequence follows the three main entries, introduces Aiden and Wrench before their Bloodline return, and lets you see the series arrive at “Play as Anyone” in context. If the London recruitment system is the feature that convinced you to try the franchise, start with Legion instead and treat the earlier games as optional backstory.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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