The Division 2 Release Date & Features: 7 Things to Know

We’re just three months into 2018, but Ubisoft is making waves with a surprise The Division 2 release announcement.

The Division 2 is a sequel to one of PS4 and Xbox One’s best-selling titles. In The Division, players became Strategic Homeland Division agents empowered to do anything if society collapsed. A biological attack left New York City in shambles and citizens dying in the streets. So, the federal government activated SHD agents from all walks of life. Players uncovered the origins of the biological attack and took steps to stop the virus from spreading inside and outside the city.

Here are 6 things to know about The Division 2 release date, its features and other details.

The Division 2 Release Date

We don’t know The Division 2 release date yet. Ubisoft confirmed the game is in development, but didn’t say when we can expect it to arrive.

The Division 2 release date could come sometime in 2018. Ubisoft announces new games closer to their release date lately. The company revealed and released Assassin’s Creed Origins and Watch Dogs 2 in the same year calendar year, for example.

On the other hand, it’s possible The Division 2 release date won’t come until 2019. Ubisoft said it was delaying three games to its next fiscal year to focus on upgrades in December 2017.

“Taking more time with Assassin’s Creed Origins enabled our talented development team to fully express their creative vision,” Ubisoft’s Christine Burgess-Quemard said. “Taking a similar approach, we have decided to invest additional development time in three upcoming games.”

Ubisoft announced Far Cry 5 and The Crew 2 delays that same day. The company never confirmed what that third game was.

Read: Best New Xbox One Games Coming in 2018

The Division 2 Features & Graphics

We know a little about The Division 2 features and graphics.

The press release on the Ubisoft Blog revealing The Division 2 release confirms that this new game will use the Snowdrop engine that the first game used. That being said, Massive Entertainment and its partner studios are upgrading the engine to add new features and capabilities. Engine upgrades mean improved mechanics and new features.

The engine update could also bring improved graphics. Ubisoft will enhance the first game’s graphics for Microsoft’s Xbox One X console this year. It’s hard to imagine those upgrades wouldn’t also make it to The Division 2. Xbox One X takes full advantage of 4K TVs and monitors.

We also know that The Division 2 will continue the story of The Dollar Bug because Julian Gerighty, creative director for Massive Entertainment confirmed that in the Ubisoft’s press release. “We’ve always envisioned the game we launched in 2016 as the beginning chapter in a larger saga,” he said. He describes The Division 2 as “what’s next for The Division universe.”

Finally, we know that earning shields in an upcoming update to The Division will unlock rewards in The Division 2. 

The Division 2 Setting

We have no idea what The Division 2 setting is and that’s very important. New York City was a character in the first game in its own right. You could explore large swaths of the city and see how the millions of deaths wrecked it. This added to the game’s haunting story.

The Division only explored portions of Brooklyn and Manhattan, so it seems possible The Division 2 is set in the parts of the city players didn’t get to explore last time.

However, it seems more likely that The Division 2 takes players someplace they haven’t been before. Ubisoft has other games that heavily depend on their setting, and those titles change cities with every release. Every Assassin’s Creed and Watch Dogs setting is different.

The Division 2 Editions

You can count on stores having multiple The Division 2 editions when the game launches. Ubisoft sells standard, deluxe, gold and collector’s editions of many of its games. Deluxe editions usually cost $69 and add a few digital extras for your character. Gold includes the game and unlocks a season pass for $99. Ubisoft’s collector’s editions have physical extras that you can’t get anywhere else, and very high-price tags to match.

Ubisoft won’t announce different The Division 2 editions until pre-orders begin. That could happen as early as June.

The Division 2 Beta

The Division 2 must have a beta. Ubisoft holds these for all its online-only games. Beta tests help the development team find bugs in how the game talks to its servers and convince people to pre-order. Expect details on the beta when pre-orders begin.

The Division 2 Consoles

The Division 2 will come to Xbox One and PS4 and support for those consoles guarantees the game will come to Xbox One X and PS4 Pro. These are all current generation systems, so none of this is a surprise.

Read: Xbox One X vs PS4 Pro: Which is Better for 4K?

The Division 2 release for PC also seems like a lock. The first game came to Windows PCs.

Really, only Nintendo Switch support is in question. Ubisoft committed to releasing new games for the Switch, but The Division 2 might require more processing power than the handheld offers.

Read: 7 Best New Nintendo Switch Games Coming in 2018

When We’ll Hear More About The Division 2

Ubisoft says it won’t talk about The Division 2 again until this year’s E3 trade show. Shorthand for the Electronic Entertainment Expo, that’s usually when publishers discuss their games for the coming fall and winter. E3 2018 starts June 12th.

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