Watch Dogs 2’s ‘seamless online multiplayer’ is broken at launch (Update)

The "seamless online multiplayer" of Watch Dogs 2 will not be active today, the game's launch day, and though a patch fixing it has been sent to the console services for certification, there's no word on when it will deploy.

The feature was taken offline over the weekend (as noted in Polygon's review). In it, players are able to "invade" one another's games to hack data and participate in co-operative missions.

The problem is that jumping into and out of games caused huge stuttering and slowdowns that could only be resolved by a complete restart of the game.

Ubisoft initially told reviewers that it expected to have the feature repaired by launch. A statement given by the publisher says it will now wait until the patch rolls out to activate the online multiplayer.

The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One editions of Watch Dogs 2 launches today; the PC version is delayed to Nov. 29.

Here is Ubisoft's statement: (Update: This is a revised version Ubisoft released after this article was originally published. It removes a reference to a patch being in certification with Sony and Xbox.

During the pre-launch phase of Watch Dogs 2, we were disappointed to discover an issue tied to the seamless multiplayer feature that caused the game to lag and crash periodically. In order to eliminate that issue at launch and for players to enjoy a smooth game play experience, we have decided to wait to launch the seamless multiplayer feature so it would not impact the core gameplay experience.

To be clear, players can fully enjoy the entire single-player experience without any concerns. Additionally, co-op is still fully functional by inviting friends through the game menu. However, the Bounty-Hunter mode and other activities that would occur with other outside players who enter your game will be unavailable until the issue is resolved. We truly appreciate the patience of our player community.

To follow updates on Watch Dogs 2 and follow the status of the seamless multiplayer, please feel free to visit our Watch Dogs 2 Web site at watchdogs.com.