The Division

The Division (Or shortened to The Division.) is an upcoming massively multiplayer online only third-person shooter video gamedeveloped by Ubisoft Massive, Ubisoft Reflections and Ubisoft Red Storm under the Tom Clancy brand for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 andXbox One.^[5] It was announced during Ubisoft's E3 2013 press conference, together with a seven minute gameplay demo and is set to release in 2015.^[4]

Plot

The Division is inspired by Operation Dark Winter and Directive 51, real-world events which "revealed how vulnerable we've [the United Stateshave] become"; society has become "fragile" and "complex". In the game, a disease that spreads on Black Friday causes the United States to collapse in five days.^[6] The player is part of a group called the "Strategic Homeland Division (SHD)", or "The Division" for short. This group was established to combat the threat brought about by the outbreak and are given direct authority by the President of the United States to do whatever it takes to "save what remains" in a massive multiplayer online situation, putting them against AI-controlled enemies, as well as other players in the game.

Development

The Division was originally being developed as an eighth generation consoles exclusive.^[7] However, shortly after the game's unveiling, Ubisoft released the following statement on the game's official Twitter account:

[...] We are optimizing the experience for next gen consoles. However, we are not ruling out any platforms for the future.^[8]

Ubisoft however asked PC gamers to show interest in the game by signing petitions, and then they would decide.^[9][10]

During E3 2013, Ubisoft announced that players can play the game on tablets. Players will be able to join in the game as a drone to offer tactical support for players playing on PC and consoles.^[11] On August 20, 2013, Ubisoft announced that the game would be released for PC on Microsoft Windows as a result of the "vocal and passionate PC community."^[12]

On May 15, 2014, it was announced that "The Division" will be delayed to 2015, according to an anonymous source inside Ubisoft Massive studio. "The game engine works well, it's not done, but works well. The actual game development has barely started, however," said the anonymous insider. The Division uses the Snowdrop engine, which was developed exclusively for the eighth generation of consoles. On June 5, 2014 Ubisoft revealed that The Division would be showcased at E3 2014.^[13]

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