The ESRB has finally revealed their rating for Watch Dogs, the bold new IP From Ubisoft Montreal. The game is apparently going to get an M rating, meaning there’s quite a lot of explicit content waiting in store for players.
This new rating is coming after the original rating which clearly had different content mentioned, as well as different descriptors. The official rating synopsis goes over quite a lot of interesting yet to be revealed features, like the ability to execute
You can find the new description below, but as with any ESRB rating, it may contain spoilers – so you’ve been warned:
This is third-person shooter/action game in which players assume the role of Aiden Pearce, a hacker trying to find an evil mastermind. Players use pistols, machine guns, assault rifles, and explosives to kill various human enemies (e.g., criminals, police officers). When close to an enemy, players are able to shoot them in the head or knock them out with a black jack. Players have the ability to kill captives after (mostly) off-screen interrogations. Cutscenes depict further instances of violence (e.g., a man stabbed in the neck and shot multiple times). Combat is highlighted by cries of pain, blood-splatter effects, and realistic gunfire. The game includes several depictions of topless female characters. One prolonged scene depicts a topless women standing in a bedroom; another sequence depicts close-ups of topless women sitting down. The game also includes a few instances of sexual activity, including an obscured depiction of masturbation; a woman performing fellatio on a man; and a man thrusting against a woman from behind—camera angles obscure the sex act and no nudity is shown. During the course of the game, the central character is sometimes consumes large amounts of alcohol (the screen turns blurry); one sequence depicts characters using needles to inject themselves with drugs. The words “f**k,” “sh*t,” and “a*shole” can be heard in the dialogue.
The official descriptors for the new rating are:
Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol.
While we knew that Watch Dogs would have a lot of adult content, it’s pretty interesting to see that Ubisoft is really going all out in their quest to tell not only a unique story, but a truly adult one. As per all of the previous footage, I expect this to be done in a tasteful way.
Watch Dogs is coming to PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on May 27th, while the Wii U version is expected to come sometime later this year.