Skye Larsen

Lore & Background

Skye Larsen is the founder and lead researcher of the Larsen Research Institute, a private facility perched in the fog-shrouded hills of Sausalito, California. Her work focuses on brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that can decode neural signals, allowing her to read and even alter human memories. She presents herself as a visionary seeking to cure mental illness and unlock human potential, but her methods are deeply unethical—she conducts experiments on unwilling subjects, including kidnapped individuals and vulnerable patients, often leaving them with severe psychological damage. DedSec becomes aware of Skye's activities through an investigation into a missing person connected to her institute. Marcus Holloway infiltrates the facility and discovers the true scope of her experiments: she has been using her technology to erase or implant memories, effectively rewriting people's identities. Skye justifies her actions as necessary for progress, showing a cold, utilitarian mindset that sees test subjects as expendable assets in her quest for scientific breakthroughs. Depending on the player's choices, Skye can be either arrested by the authorities or killed by Marcus. Her fate reflects the game's theme of vigilante justice versus institutional accountability. Even if she survives, her reputation is destroyed, and her research is exposed, but the ethical questions she raises about mind control and privacy linger long after her story concludes.

In Their Own Story

The door slid open with a hydraulic hiss, and Skye Larsen smiled—a practiced, professional expression that didn't reach her eyes. 'Welcome, Marcus. I've been expecting you.' She gestured to a chair in the middle of a sterile white room. 'Please, sit. I promise this won't hurt. Much.'

Marcus didn't move. Behind her, through a glass wall, he could see a man strapped to a gurney, electrodes snaking across his scalp like metallic veins. The man's eyes were open, but they were empty—like a doll's. 'What did you do to him?' Marcus asked. Skye's smile tightened. 'I helped him let go of trauma. Painful memories. He's happier now, in a way. But you wouldn't understand. You're still clinging to your own pain, your own anger. I could fix that, you know.' She reached for a tablet on the desk. 'I could make you forget everything that's ever hurt you. Or I could make you remember something that never happened. The choice is yours—but I'd prefer you didn't make it.'

Her thumb hovered over a button on the tablet. The lights in the room flickered, casting long shadows across the floor. Marcus's hand moved to his phone. 'I think I'll pass,' he said.

Reader's Guide

Skye Larsen is a side character and optional boss in Watch Dogs 2, encountered during the 'Shadows' main mission chain. She is the CEO of the Larsen Research Institute and a morally corrupt neuroscientist. Her personality is calm, manipulative, and condescending—she treats everyone as either a tool or an obstacle, never as an equal. She speaks with a measured, clinical tone, often framing her atrocities as necessary steps toward a greater good. Mechanically, Skye is the target of a stealth-focused infiltration mission. The player must navigate her heavily guarded facility, avoid or disable security systems, and eventually confront her in her lab. The encounter culminates in a choice: the player can either call the police to arrest her or kill her themselves. There is no traditional boss fight; the challenge lies in the stealth approach and the moral decision at the end. Skye does not appear in any other Watch Dogs game, and her story is self-contained within Watch Dogs 2.

Did You Know?

• Skye Larsen's character was inspired by real-world controversies around brain-computer interfaces and the ethics of neural data privacy.
• Her research facility in Sausalito is based on actual high-tech labs in the Bay Area, though the game takes creative liberties with its layout and security.
• The player's choice regarding Skye's fate has no impact on the main story's outcome, but it affects the tone of the mission's conclusion.
• Skye's dialogue includes references to actual neuroscience concepts like memory consolidation and neural plasticity, though the game exaggerates their capabilities for dramatic effect.