Tom Clancy's The Division is an upcoming
open world third-person shooter role-playing video game with
survival elements developed by
Ubisoft Massive,
Ubisoft Reflections and
Ubisoft Red Storm under the
Tom Clancy brand for
Microsoft Windows,
PlayStation 4 and
Xbox 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 reveal how vulnerable the United States has
become in the modern era as society has become more "fragile" and
"complex". In the game, a
disease that spreads on
Black Friday causes the
United States Government
to collapse in five days; basic services fail one by one, and without
access to food or water, the country quickly descends into chaos. In the
wake of the devastating pandemic that sweeps through cities across the
country, including New York City, it is discovered that the spread of
the disease is transmitted through germs on banknotes.
[6]
As a last resort, the player is part of a classified unit of
self-supported tactical agents, known as the "Strategic Homeland
Division (SHD)", or "The Division" for short. Leading seemingly ordinary
lives among us, the agents are trained to operate independent of
command when all else fails. 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 prevent
the fall of society and piece the city back together in a massive
multiplayer online situation, putting them against
AI-controlled
enemies, as well as other players in the game. Throughout the game, the
agents will find themselves caught in a worldwide conspiracy and will
be forced to combat both the threats of the virus as well as those who
unleashed it. When everything else collapses, the Division's mission
begins...
Development
The Division was originally being developed as an
eighth generation consoles exclusive.
[7] Shortly after the game's unveiling, Ubisoft stated that other platforms were not ruled out.
[8] Ubisoft 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] .
