Earlier this week, Ubisoft informed the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that it is abandoning the "Watch Dogs" trademark. Needless to say, this has spurred all sorts of rumors and speculations regarding the yet-unreleased game's future.
Some rumors were as humble as expecting that the game's name has been changed significantly or that the game was cancelled. More imaginative rumors went as far as to claim that the game has been reimagined to be part of the Assassin's Creed series.
The truth is not as wild as some of those rumors, but it is not less amusing.
According to Ubisoft, the official request for "express abandonment" of the trademark was not filed by them. Apparently, the Watch Dog trademark was nullified upon the request of a John Doe who claimed to be Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. Apparently that can work indeed.
Ubisoft is currently "working directly with the USPTO on reinstating the trademark for Watch Dogs, and it will be active again the in the coming days."
More importantly, this situation has "no impact" on the game's development and its eminent launch in Q2 2014.