Aiden Pearce

Aiden Pearce
Watch Dogs character
Aiden Pearce from Watch Dogs
First appearance	Watch Dogs (2014)
Last appearance	Watch Dogs: Stars and Stripes (2022)
Created by	Ubisoft Montreal
Voiced by	Noam Jenkins
In-universe information
Aliases	The Fox The Vigilante Joe Smith Nicholas Crispin
Origin	Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Nationality	Irish-American

Aiden Pearce (also known as The Vigilante and The Fox) is a fictional character and the overarching protagonist of the Watch Dogs video game series developed by Ubisoft. He first appeared as the main protagonist of the original Watch Dogs (2014), in which he was portrayed by Noam Jenkins via performance capture.^[1] He also made a minor, non-speaking appearance in Watch Dogs 2 (2016), and returned as a playable character in Watch Dogs: Legion (2020), with Jenkins reprising his role. In Legion, Aiden serves as one of the two protagonists of the Bloodline expansion, alongside Wrench from Watch Dogs 2. The character has also appeared in media outside the games, such as the novels Watch Dogs //n/Dark Clouds (2014) by John Shirley, and Watch Dogs: Stars and Stripes (2022) by Sean Grigsby and Stewart Hotston.

In the franchise, Aiden is portrayed as a highly skilled grey hat hacker and vigilante based in Chicago, who utilizes the fictional ctOS system to manipulate the city's infrastructure and security features. After an attempt on his life results in the death of his young niece, Aiden embarks on a quest for revenge against those responsible, while slowly attempting to move on from his trauma.^[2] In Legion, which takes place nearly two decades after the events of Watch Dogs, Aiden relocates to London, where he tries to reconnect with his estranged nephew and becomes involved with the local hacking syndicate DedSec, which seeks to liberate the city from the control of an oppressive private military company.

Aiden was first revealed by Ubisoft at the E3 2012 conference in a demo trailer.^[3][4] According to director Jonathan Morin, Breaking Bad's main protagonist Walter White was a direct source of inspiration for Aiden, as they were both intentionally designed to be flawed antiheroes.^[5] Aiden's character has received a generally mixed reception, with many reviewers criticizing his perceived unlikability and lack of growth, although his appearance in the Bloodline expansion for Legion was met with more positive responses.