Embracing Individuality: Autism Representation in Watch Dogs 2, The Division 2, and Rainbow Six Siege

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Today is Autism Awareness day, and to raise awareness, Ubisoft News spoke to Ubisoft employees on the Autism Spectrum about their experiences as neurodiverse employees, as well as developers who created in-game autistic characters.

This article will explore three characters with autism: Josh Sauchak (Watch Dogs 2), Birdie (The Division 2), and Jäger (Rainbow Six Siege). While these characters by no means represent the full spectrum of autism, and only comprise a small fraction of Ubisoft characters, each provides their own unique piece of autism representation in games.

Josh “Hawt Sauce” Sauchak – Watch Dogs 2

In Watch Dogs 2, Josh is a member of DedSec alongside Marcus, Wrench, Sitara, T-Bone, and Horatio. In the game, he’s portrayed as a hacker with a knack for coding and an ironclad memory; he’s also a bit socially awkward. He can be hard on himself, like when he misses bot accounts that have flooded DedSec’s social media pages; he sometimes takes things a bit too literally, like when he tries to understand what his friends mean when they say “cornholing;” and he’s not a fan of physical contact, as evidenced when Lenni tries to give him a hug.

“Most of his scenes are my favorite ones now, like the little moments where he’s like, ‘oh, you’re using that as a verb, and I don’t understand that,’” said Jonathan Morin, creative director of Watch Dogs 2, in a 2021 Video Games and Neurodiversity panel. “Small touches, and the way the others around poke at the difference, made it feel like he’s not different, he’s just an individual. And that made an impact.”

According to Morin, Josh was initially a much different character, written as an upbeat YouTuber. However, the writers were having trouble finding his place within the