Aiden Pearce

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Aiden Pearce was born on 2 May 1974 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. At an unspecified point, he, along with his mother and younger sister Nicole Pearce, emigrated from Belfast to Chicago, where his father was absent or unknown. According to Aiden, he grew up in a rough neighborhood, where he was often engaged in violence and joined a gang, learning how to fight and use weapons. He later became proficient with computers and a skilled grey hat hacker, utilising Chicago's ctOS network to manipulate the city's infrastructure and security features. Operating as a fixer and thief, Aiden at some point met and befriended fellow hacker Damien Brenks, and the two formed a partnership. In October 2011, Aiden and Damien conduct a heist on the Merlaut Hotel, owned by Irish mob boss Dermont Quinn, in which they hack in and siphon money from people's bank accounts. However, Aiden abruptly ends the heist when he inadvertently triggers a silent alarm set by another hacker, giving himself and Damien away. On 26 October 2011, while Aiden is driving with his nephew Jackson and niece Lena to Pawnee, Illinois, Maurice Vega, a low-level thug hired by Quinn's men, shoots their car's tires, causing them to crash. While Aiden and Jackson survive, Lena dies in the crash, leading Aiden to vow revenge on those responsible.

In Their Own Story

A year after Lena's death, Aiden tracks down and interrogates Maurice Vega, but is unsuccessful in learning the identity of his contractor. Leaving Vega in the hands of hired fixer Jordi Chin, Aiden visits Nicole and Jackson for the latter's birthday, only to learn that someone has been harassing them. With the help of Clara Lille of DedSec, Aiden discovers the harasser was hired by Damien, who sought his attention so Aiden would help him find the other hacker from the failed Merlaut job. When Aiden refuses, Damien kidnaps Nicole to force him to comply. Aiden works with Clara to track down the hacker, leading them to gang leader Delford "Iraq" Wade. After obtaining a data sample from Iraq, Aiden tracks down legendary hacker Raymond "T-Bone" Kenney and erases his identity from ctOS. Upon returning to Chicago, Aiden assaults Iraq's compound and kills Iraq when the latter confronts him. Another hacker, JB "Defalt" Markowicz, steals the data and reveals Clara was hired to track down Aiden after the Merlaut job. Aiden rescues Nicole and bids her and Jackson farewell as they leave Chicago. After learning Quinn ordered the hit, Aiden kills Quinn but is unable to save Clara from hitmen. Aiden makes the blackmail material public, leading Damien to wreak havoc in Chicago with ctOS. Aiden shuts down the system using a virus created by Kenney, then confronts and kills Damien, and incapacitates Jordi. In the epilogue, Aiden confronts Vega one final time, deciding his fate.

Reader's Guide

In Watch Dogs: Legion, Aiden returns as a playable character for owners of the game's season pass. He is one of the two protagonists of the Bloodline expansion, alongside Wrench from Watch Dogs 2. Set before the events of the base game, the expansion follows Aiden as he travels to London to reunite with Jackson, whom he has not seen in fifteen years, and complete a fixer contract given to him by Jordi. Aiden's assignment is to infiltrate Broca Tech and acquire photographic evidence of a new robot design project headed by Thomas Rempart, as well as retrieve a device called the "BrocaBridge". His attempt is foiled by Wrench, who also seeks the BrocaBridge. A struggle ensues, resulting in Wrench escaping with the BrocaBridge and Aiden being captured by Rempart's men, though he soon escapes and makes contact with Jackson. With Jackson's help, Aiden finds Wrench at his hideout and confronts him. Wrench reveals he was hired by Rempart to design the robots for his project, but was ultimately betrayed, so he took revenge by stealing the BrocaBridge. Rempart finds and captures Jackson to ransom him for the BrocaBridge. After obtaining the device from Wrench, Aiden delivers it to Rempart, unaware that it is an explosive fake created by Wrench. The explosion disfigures Rempart's face and allows Aiden and Jackson to escape, though Aiden is shot in the process and falls into a coma. Wrench allows Aiden and Jackson to stay at his hideout and obtains medical supplies to help Aiden recover. Later, Wrench is contacted by Broca Tech's CEO Skye Larsen, who offers to help with Aiden's recovery in exchange for retaking control of her facilities from Rempart.

Did You Know?

• Aiden was born on 2 May 1974 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
• He is also known by the alias 'The Vigilante'.
• According to director Jonathan Morin, Breaking Bad's Walter White was a direct source of inspiration for Aiden—both are men who believe they are doing the right thing, even as their methods spiral into obsession and dest
• Aiden makes a non-speaking cameo in Watch Dogs 2, where he is found captured by the Bratva in San Francisco. Players can free him, but he leaves without a word, a ghost haunting his own story.
• In Watch Dogs: Legion, Aiden is only playable as part of the Bloodline DLC and does not appear as a default member of DedSec in the main campaign.