That leaked game trailer inside Watch Dogs 2 is for a real game, sources say

Brace yourselves, because this is about to get so very, very meta. In Watch Dogs 2, developed and published by Ubisoft, there is a mission where you infiltrate and hack into a fictionalized version of Ubisoft's San Francisco offices. You then steal a video game trailer and sell it to a website. And while some thought this was just a cheeky little joke, sources tell Kotaku that the trailer players steal is for a game that is very real.

The game, reportedly being developed under the codename Pioneer, is a space exploration game that was set to debut in 2017. However, it's being "retooled" according to Kotaku's sources, and likely won't see the starlight of day until 2018, if ever. The dev team didn't foresee the development snags that Pioneer has run into, so its inclusion in Watch Dogs 2 is "a bit awkward," according to one source.

Here's where things get even more meta and weird: Kotaku got into a bit of a tiff with Ubisoft years back over its coverage of leaked Assassin's Creed assets, and in Watch Dogs 2, a fictional Ubisoft employee voices concern that this trailer (the one for Pioneer) will likewise be leaked to gaming press - he even specifically mentions that he doesn't want another Assassin's Creed situation. And now we have sources telling Kotaku the supposed truth about the Pioneer trailer.