New Capcom Game Finally Fixes My Biggest Issue With a Major Ubisoft Franchise

Games that try to give players advanced tech usually fall flat, a great example being Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs series. Watch Dogs‘ action-adventure style uses hacking and other manipulations of a tech-based society as an aesthetic rather than a core gameplay mechanic at times, with very linear and uninteresting applications of what should be incredibly interesting ways to alter your environment. Thankfully, it seems that Capcom’s latest sci-fi game might finally delve deeper into mechanics tied to the application of advanced technology more than Ubisoft ever did.

As of 2026, Ubisoft seems to have completely shut down Watch Dogs as a franchise, killing what was once a highly anticipated IP going into the Xbox One and PS4 generation of games. This is due to a number of reasons, including how Watch Dogs always had an inconsistent nature, trying to act as an open world title, crime drama, and stylish live service game in many of its iterations. While Watch Dogs Legion had interesting multiplayer concepts, the series just never found a concrete audience.

Pragmata’s Hacking Outclasses The Manipulation Of Technology Seen In Watch Dogs

Capcom’s Pragmata is leagues beyond Watch Dogs when it comes to making its hacking gameplay actually important to a player’s experience. In Watch Dogs, hacking was mainly used in small situations, acting as a minor way to give you the upper hand against enemies. Everything else in Watch Dogs played out like your standard action-adventure shooter, but Pragmata makes your engagement with technology mandatory to survive.

As you fight various enemies in Pragmata, their outer shells are too tough for your weapons to penetrate, causing them to take little to no damage. By hacking these robotic foes, you can open up a command matrix from beyond their inner firewalls, creating a series of nodes. By moving through blue nodes and connecting to a green EXE node, Pragmata enemies temporarily enter a vulnerable “Open” state, allowing your weapons to deal far more damage.

This core gameplay loop of Pragmata is not done separately either, as you still have to pay attention to what enemies are doing while you hack. Dodging, shooting, and hacking are all done at the same time, testing a player’s ability to multitask. As you gain more weapons and abilities to help you out in combat, hacking becomes even more important as command matrices get more complicated depending on the enemy or boss you’re fighting.

Ubisoft’s Experimental Franchise Seems To Shy Away From Its Biggest Premise

The biggest problems behind Watch Dogs were once hard to articulate, but with Pragmata, they are much easier to voice. The “secondary” nature of hacking in Watch Dogs seemed to devalue its initial promises, especially during the first game. Yet, as Watch Dogs 2 and Watch Dogs Legion seemed to lean more into open world gameplay, the hacking still felt like an add-on rather than a core feature.

Although there is nothing wrong with Watch Dogs using hacking and taking over data as a way to emphasize its cyber-revolutionary themes, the gameplay aspect of that idea doesn’t have much ground to stand on. Controlling drones or robots, obscuring your character from cameras, or doing slight environmental manipulations feel like the tip of an iceberg that never gets below surface level. Perhaps with a greater focus on hacking mechanics, Watch Dogs‘ identity would be more clear.

Synergy Of Combat & Hacking In Pragmata Offers More Dynamic Gameplay To Enjoy

The blend of third-person, Resident Evil-like action with complex hacking systems feels incredibly immersive, lending itself well to Pragmata‘s sci-fi setting. While a simple concept, the command matrix of enemies becoming more and more complex to hack as the game continues is somewhat exciting, adding layers to the challenge of the game itself. The idea of higher difficulties increasing the tension surrounding hacking and shooting might create a game that feels insanely rewarding for players.

With Ubisoft cancelling games left and right, Pragmata only looks better by comparison. Part of the appeal with hacking in games is how doing it successfully will dramatically improve your chances of getting out of a bad spot. Watch Dogs‘ premise was that hacking could be used to cover your escape, set up easier ways to accomplish goals, or give yourself at least some advantage that felt crucial to victory. In that sense, Pragmata does this with its approach far more than Watch Dogs ever tried.

With only a live action movie related to the franchise, the future of any Watch Dogs game in the future is extremely bleak for fans of the series. Yet, with Pragmata releasing this year, those who want a game that delivers on a high-tech hacking concept likely won’t be disappointed.

Do you think Pragmata will deliver where Watch Dogs could not? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!