'Watch Dogs 2': Who Is DedSec, And What Are They Fighting For?

The Watch Dogs 2 world is incredibly immersive, and sharply written. The lighter tone stands in stark contrast to the somewhat broody and darker original, and it seems that #Ubisoft has learned a lot of lessons from their original attempt. A lot of players passed on Watch Dogs after mixed reviews came in, but it seems that Watch Dogs 2 has picked up a lot of new fans, despite Ubisoft's difficulty with the original game.

Whether you're a current player, or just someone who is trying to figure out what Watch Dogs 2 is all about, you've come to the right spot. To understand the Watch Dogs universe, we've really got to take a look at some of the main players; we're going to start with DedSec.

Who or what exactly is DedSec?

The simplest answer is that DedSec is a secret collective of hackers: mostly black or grey hats who want to serve their own form of justice against whomever they see fit. DedSec first rose into prominence in Chicago as they challenged the system that maintained and monitored the city itself called ctOS. This all takes place with the assistance of Watch Dogs protagonist Aiden Pierce. Aiden doesn't directly tie himself to DedSec, since he's more on a personal vendetta rather than a mission to bring light to the corruption through his hacktivism. Yet, the leaders of DedSec sets their sights on Aiden as they believe that can use Aiden to further their agenda.

In Watch Dogs 2, the emphasis of DedSec lies more in upending the power that Blume and the updated ctOS 2.0 has on the population. DedSec believes that Blume is selling the personal data of citizens to the highest bidder in order to profit from the private affairs of the people of San Francisco and the rest of the US. Marcus Holloway takes center stage as the main protagonist of Watch Dogs 2 as he attempts to undermine the corrupted establishment currently in control of his city.

Where did DedSec come from?

The hackers that formed DedSec are believed to have been a part of the Umeni Corporation. The Umeni Corporation took massive profits while leaving their engineers liable for the legality of the companies actions. Many of the engineers were sent to prison because of a specific incident and upon their release they formed DedSec in an attempt to stem the tide and fight against corporate injustice and corruption.

DedSec rose quickly as they began questioning the legitimacy and direction of ctOS. At one point DedSec hacks and takes control of the Chicago ctOS home page and they ask the classic question "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" which means who watches the watchmen? - DedSec believes that there are other powers controlling the ctOS and that they are up to no good and that they should not have absolute power over the people as they do.

Okay, so what does DedSec want?

Every hacker in DedSec is unique, and challenges the status quo in different ways. In the original Watch Dogs the hackers are focused more on upending Chicago's ctOS system to prove that it is unstable and vulnerable through militaristic advances. Whereas in Watch Dogs 2 the hackers of DedSec are geared toward ending corporate corruption and the power that Blume has gathered in the Silicon Valley area with their newly updated and advanced ctOS 2.0.

The true endgame is discovering who is truly in control of the system. The government and major corporations paint DedSec as an anarchist organization seeking to destabilize the world around them, but that's far from the truth. DedSec simply is looking to bring light to what is actually happening to the people of the city, and what could happen were anything to happen to the ctOS. DedSec believes that ctOS is dangerous and that by being controlled by a corporation, it's necessary to take it down and return the power to the people.