Watch Dogs: Legion release time, download size, and Xbox Game Pass status

Ubisoft's first major title of fall 2020, Watch Dogs: Legion, is almost here. While its multiplayer won't be available until December, players can recruit anyone that they come across in London to join the resistance. For anyone curious about exactly when Watch Dogs: Legion launches or how big the download will be, here's what you need to know.

When is the Watch Dogs: Legion release time?

While you might already know that Watch Dogs: Legion comes out on October 29, you probably don't know exactly when it will become available. That's because release time works differently across different platforms and regions. If you are playing in North America on PS4, Watch Dogs: Legion will be released at 12:01 a.m. Eastern on October 29, 2020.

Check out Inverse's review of Watch Dogs: Legion.

PS4 players in Europe, Asia, Japan, and Korea can expect the game at 12:01 a.m. in their local time, which gives Watch Dogs: Legion a staggered release in those regions. The same approach applies to the Xbox One, Uplay on PC, and Google Stadia versions of the game, which will be released at 12:01 a.m. locally.

The Epic Games Store version of Watch Dogs: Legion, however, won't go live until 11 a.m. on October 29. An Xbox Series X version comes out on November 10, and a PS5 port is in the pipeline for November 12. But those don't have release time details just yet. In most regions, expect Watch Dogs: Legion to go live on your platform of choice shortly after midnight.

What is the Watch Dogs: Legion file size?

On Xbox One, Watch Dogs: Legion clocks in at just 35.7 GB. According to Ubisoft, the PC version of the game is 45 GB, while the Watch Dogs: Legion on PS4 is 33.9 GB. While that file size isn't small, Watch Dogs: Legion won't be crowding up your hard drive like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare does.

Ubisoft has confirmed their post-launch support plans for Watch Dogs: Legion includes things like multiplayer, new story missions starring Aiden Pearce from the first Watch Dogs, and a new game plus mode. As such, this file size will definitely grow over time, even if it starts out relatively modest in size.

If you want to save space on your system's hard drive, Google Stadia might be the best option as games don't take up storage space on that platform because they run from the cloud.

Can you pre-load Watch Dogs: Legion?

If you want to play Watch Dogs: Legion right when it goes live at the aforementioned release times, you'll probably want to pre-load the game onto your PC, PS4, or Xbox One. To do this, you'll simply have to pre-order the game from your platform's storefront, and you should then have the option to pre-load once the option is enabled.

You can already pre-load the game on Xbox One and PC, and PS4 pre-loads go live at 12:01 a.m. in your local time on October 27. The only platform that doesn't have to worry about this is Google Stadia, as no downloads are required there. If the game is pre-loaded on your system, you can jump straight in and recruit anyone in London to DedSec once release time passes.

Is Watch Dogs: Legion on Xbox Game Pass?

Despite Watch Dogs: Legion seeming like the perfect type of game for Xbox Game Pass, it doesn't seem like the title will make its way onto Xbox Game Pass anytime soon. As of this writing, the only Ubisoft game on Xbox Game Pass is Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege. Previously, Tom Clancy’s The Division was available but it has since been removed.

Particularly because Ubisoft has its own game subscription service on PC, and soon Google Stadia and Amazon Luna, it stands to reason that the company would be hesitant to put brand new games on Xbox Game Pass. Things could change, but particularly for a high-profile multiplatform game like Watch Dogs: Legion, don't expect it anytime soon.

Watch Dogs: Legion will be released on October 29, 2020.