Skip to main content

‘Watch Dogs 2’ Showdown PVP game mode will now be free for all

Watch Dog 2‘s upcoming Showdown PVP team-based online mode will be entirely free, according to a new content roadmap from Ubisoft. It will be released in April alongside a number of other free features and the premium No Compromise DLC on PS4. It will be followed by additional free content releases in May and June.

The upcoming Showdown game mode for Watch Dogs 2 is an exciting one. It pits two pairs of experienced players against one another, with one of three distinct challenges: Steal the HDD, king-of-the-hill style “Doomload,” and Erase/Protect the servers. Although initially intended as a premium DLC release, community feedback prompted Ubisoft to make it freely available for everyone.

Recommended Videos

“We really wanted to have as many people as possible playing the mode for a better challenge, better matchmaking time and quality, and a healthier, more active community,” said Watch Dogs 2 live producer Kris Young. “Our community asked for more multiplayer content, and that’s also a reason why we’ve decided to make Showdown accessible for free for all players, while replacing it with more single-player content in No Compromise.”

Alongside the Showdown release, players can expect new races for drones, ekarts and motocross bikes, all available in multiplayer. There’s also a new armored truck feature for single player and cooperative play and a new paintball rifle. Those who like to dress up their character can also come to grips with 13 new clothing options.

Perhaps looking to assuage those concerned that content they paid for as part of the season pass is now going to be given free to everyone, Ubisoft is also releasing some premium DLC alongside the Showdown content update. That paid-for DLC release coming on April 18 is called No Compromise. Launching initially on the PS4 (Xbox One and PC release is coming in May) it will give players a new Dedsec operation, “Moscow Gambit,”; six new single player race time trials, new clothing sets for police, fireman, and paramedic which come with their own vehicles, and two new non-lethal weapons: the air shotgun and sniper stun rifle.

“By adding more weapon options for nonlethal players, we’re giving them new tools and strategies they can use to replay favorite missions, push their preferred playstyle even further, and experiment more with the Ghost style,” Young said.

Alongside the launch of No Compromise on the Xbox One and PC in May, all players will gain access to new free content as well. There’s “seamless PVP support,” for the armored truck feature, as well as a new seamless PVE event. “Big improvements” are also going to be made to leaderboards and a few changes will be made to bounty hunter mode.

In June, players can look forward to four player cooperative support for city exploration and certain activities.

Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is a freelance evergreen writer and occasional section coordinator, covering how to guides, best-of lists, and…
You may have access to hundreds of free games you’re not taking advantage of
Living room with Microsoft Xbox Series X (L) and Sony PlayStation 5 home video game consoles alongside a television and soundbar.

Ever since Nintendo was the first to breach the $80 threshold for games with Mario Kart World, the concerns over game prices have been top of mind across the industry. Between tariffs, inflation, cost of living, and what appears to be an inevitable recession right around the corner, I have already been preparing for how I can be a more discerning consumer of games.

There are tons of ways to be more thrifty with our favorite hobby. You can wait for sales, trade and borrow games, rely more on subscription services like PlayStation Plus and Game Pass, or just stick to the wealth of free-to-play games. But there's one resource I never see brought up that could give you access to a huge library of major titles for free: your local library.

Read more
In a sea of giant games, Rematch’s simplicity is a gift
A screenshot of players celebrating in Rematch.

There are a lot of words I’d use to describe Rematch, the new multiplayer soccer game from Sifu developer Sloclap. It’s fun, it’s approachable, it’s elegant. But there’s one word I wouldn't use: ambitious. I don’t mean that in a derogatory way; in fact, that’s exactly what I love about it.

Rematch needs little setup or explanation to get across what it is, which separates it from so many modern, formula-twisting video games. It’s an online multiplayer soccer game where teams of three to five, depending on the playlist, compete in six minute matches. The teams are dropped on a basic pitch, the only notable twist of which is that all the sides are walled off. Players pass, block, and shoot and the team with the most points at the end wins. There are no gimmicks, no tricks, and no flourishes like flying cars that make for a cool sales pitch. It’s just soccer.

Read more
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: gripping sequel weighs the cost of connection
Sam holds Lou in Death Stranding 2: On The Beach.

There may never be a video game as prophetic as Death Stranding. In 2019, Hideo Kojima painted a picture of an already politically divided United States forced into isolation as a plague swept through the country. It pushed the need for human connection in society, urging its players to come together in moments of darkness rather than splintering. That message would become hauntingly urgent just one year later when a real world pandemic shut the world indoors. Death Stranding retroactively became the first great work of Covid-19 art, offering up a hopeful message about strengthening social ties that bond us all together.

Everything has changed since then. The rise of digital communication that was necessitated by a pandemic has backfired. Online communities have become a hotbed for alt right radicalization. Social media platforms like X have been reshaped into misinformation pits built to manipulate the outcomes of elections. The rise of generative AI has made it easier than ever to mislead trusting suckers into believing anything they see. The mass connection that Death Stranding advocated for has shown its dark underbelly and there are some days where I wish we could go back and undo it all.

Read more