Ubisoft’s next video game may bring out the hacker in all of us

Breaking into a computer system is serious business, but that isn’t stopping Canada’s Ubisoft from turning it into fun and games.

Watch_Dogs will not be released until near the end of May, and apart from saying it will be an action-adventure that focuses on cyber-security and the ability to hack into any connected system,” the details about the game are scarce. What Ubisoft has revealed, however, are the fruits of a research project that show why these themes should resonate with a consumer audience.

In a survey that was conducted with more than 1,000 Canadians, for example, Ubisoft found 63 per cent don’t feel we take enough safeguards to protect data. Less than a quarter feel their data is safer here than in the United States.

“It was not especially surprising,” says Thomas Geffroyd, brand content manager for Watch_Dogs at Ubisoft. “Technology has advanced enough to the point where it looks like magic. On our cell phone there are so many amazing tools and amazing things occurring that we’re just accepting terms and agreements (of services) without knowing what’s happening.”

While the survey data reflects how Canadians feel about cyber-security, Geffroyd said Ubisoft went even further in researching the storyline of the game itself. This included consultation with Russian IT security firm Kaspersky Lab, among others, to ensure that what players will see in the game is an accurate depiction of real-life hacking and surveillance activities.

If this sounds like an unusual approach to launching a piece of entertainment, Geffroyd said Ubisoft hopes Watch_Dogs will further awareness about cyber-security and surveillance issues, particularly among young people who have grown up with smartphones and the Internet and take them for granted.

“The public has to have this discussion. We’re exposing the collection of data. What we’re not discussing yet is what you can do with that data,” he said. “The game is not about giving the answer, but at least we’ll ask the question.”

That won’t be the only question. For example, video games are usually about heroes and villains, but identifying who’s who hasn’t been easy in the wake of cyber-spying scandals with the N.S.A. and Canada’s CSE. To some, a guy like Edward Snowden is a Robin Hood-type figure and governments are a nefarious, untrustworthy menace. To others, the work of Snowden (and, to lesser extent, WikiLeaks) is compromising important work that could keep citizens safe.

“Snowden’s revelations were a big boost (to making a game like Watch_Dogs),” Geffroyd admitted with a laugh. “We’re glad it happened this (past) year.”

A video game like this could reinforce the importance of data security and privacy, but the other way they differ from real life is that it’s usually pretty clear who the winners and losers are. As we continue to learn more about how cyber-security and online surveillance works, that’s one detail that even the likes of Edward Snowden may be unable to reveal.