There are three major, AAA open-world games left on the 2013 release calendar. You can try to argue otherwise, but the trio that people will pay the most attention to includes Saints Row 4, Grand Theft Auto 5, and Watch Dogs. Each has its own unique flavor, but the insanity level in the first two mentioned has been noted within the series for years. In the case of Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs, exploring the open world isn’t about flying around in jet packs or singing karaoke at a local bar. This is a more grounded experience, and because of that fact, not even flyable aircraft will be included in the final product.
"Players will not fly aircrafts in Watch Dogs," senior producer Dominic Guay told Examiner. "We did not feel it was core to the experience we wanted to create."
That doesn’t mean that players will be limited to a single city for the duration of the game. Even if the experience can’t be taken to the air, Guay confirmed that the world beyond Chicago will exist and hold missions to complete.
"Players will be able to drive any wheeled vehicles, from trucks to motorcycles, or boats. This will allow them to explore the city proper, the rivers, the lake, and even beyond the limits of Chicago," Guay said.
As another director on the game previously said, people don’t want to just play a story anymore. There has to be more meat to a game to keep it interesting, and while you won’t be able to zoom across the skies in this fall blockbuster, there should be plenty of other exciting side activities to indulge in.