Set within a fictionalized version of San Francisco, the game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on-foot or by vehicle. Players control Marcus Holloway, a hacker who works with the hacking group DedSec to take down the city's ctOS 2.0, an advanced surveillance

Set within a fictionalized version of San Francisco, the game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on-foot or by vehicle. Players control Marcus Holloway, a hacker who works with the hacking group DedSec to take down the city's ctOS 2.0, an advanced surveillance system. There are multiple ways to complete missions, and each successful assignment increases the follower count of DedSec. Cooperative multiplayer allows for competitive one-on-one combat and connecting with other players in order to neutralize a player who is actively causing havoc.