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Tom Clancy's The Division 2 is a 2019 action role-playing video game developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft. The sequel to Tom Clancy's The Division (2016), it is set in a near-future Washington, D.C., in the aftermath of a genetically engineered virus known as "Green Poison" being released, and follows an agent of the Strategic Homeland Division as they try to rebuild the city. As with its predecessor, The Division 2 is a third-person shooter in which the player uses a variety of weapons and gadgets to fight against various enemy factions. It is structured with elements of role-playing games, as well as cooperative and player versus player online multiplayer.
| Tom Clancy's The Division 2 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Developer(s) | Massive Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Director(s) | Julian Gerighty Mathias Karlson |
| Producer(s) | Cristian Pana |
| Programmer(s) | Carl Johan Lejdfors |
| Artist(s) | Benedikt Podlesnigg |
| Writer(s) | Craig Hubbard |
| Composer(s) | Ola Strandh |
| Series | Tom Clancy's |
| Engine | Snowdrop |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | March 15, 2019[lower-alpha 1] |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing, third-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Massive Entertainment worked in collaboration with Ubisoft Reflections, Red Storm Entertainment, and Ubisoft's studios in Annecy, Paris, Bucharest and Shanghai to create the game. The team evaluated the feedback from players of the first game and decided to incorporate various gameplay changes, such as having more robust endgame content at launch. While the team explored other settings such as Seattle and New Orleans, Washington DC was chosen as the game's setting due to its diverse environments, and various landmarks and monuments were recreated. The team also consulted with first responders and experts in emergency management, and was inspired by real-life disaster while creating the game's post-apocalyptic world. It was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on March 15, 2019.
The game received generally favorable reviews from critics, with most noting it as an improvement over the first installment for its setting, gameplay, visuals, combat, level design and wealth of content at launch, though its narrative received criticisms. Like its predecessor, it was a commercial success, selling over 10 million copies worldwide despite not meeting expectations at launch. The game was nominated for Best Multiplayer at the annual The Game Awards and BAFTA Game Awards. As a live service game, Ubisoft supported the game with various downloadable content packs and free updates, releasing Warlords of New York, an expansion pack in March 2020. A sequel, Tom Clancy's The Division 3, is currently in development.
The Division 2 is a cover-based third-person shooter with up to four players being able to complete missions together.[1] The game takes place in Washington, D.C., seven months after its predecessor, in which a civil war between survivors and villainous bands of marauders breaks out.[2] In the beginning of the game, players create their own Division agent by customizing the character's gender and appearance.[3] The agent is equipped with different firearms, including assault rifles, sniper rifles and submachine guns, and explosives like grenades to defeat enemies. These weapons are classified into different tiers and rarity. High-quality guns are difficult to obtain, but they have better weapon stats and "talents" that further help boost players' performance. The weapon stats include the following 7 domains: Damage, Rounds Per Minute, Magazine Size, Accuracy, Stability, Reload Time, and Damage Drop Off.[4] These weapons can be further customized with different attachments like firearm optics, iron sights and barrel attachments.[5] The game features a variety of gear and armor. Wearing gear from the same brand gives players a small performance boost.[6] As players complete missions, they gain loot and experience points (XP). With sufficient XP, they level up and gain SHD Tech, a currency to unlock new skills.[7] These skills include deploying gun turrets, shields and combat drones, or gaining access to weapons like seeker mines and chem launchers. Each skill has unique mods that change its functionality.[8] The game introduces new enemy types, including healers and characters that shoot foam at players.[9] Players can request backup during missions, which allows other players to join their sessions.[10] Players can join a clan, which can accommodate up to 50 players. The actions of individual members of a clan contribute to clan XP, which can be used to upgrade the clan for additional gameplay benefits.[11]
Washington, D.C., is an open world for players to explore. Players can recruit non-playable characters by completing missions and providing supplies to different settlements. Recruiting them unlocks new features, including projects, which are fetch quests that reward players with gear, XP, and blueprints for crafting, which can be accessed in the base of operation, the White House. Upgrading settlements enables their expansion to include more facilities and gives players gameplay benefits such as access to their gear stash or fast travel.[12] Another way to fast travel is to use the safehouses players have discovered.[13] Discovering a safehouse reveals the location of nearby SHD caches, which can be used to unlock new perks that further enhance players' combat performance as well as granting advantages such as XP bonuses.[14] Players can liberate enemies' control points and call civilian reinforcements to assist in battle,[6] participate in world events[15] such as stopping public executions and capturing resource convoys,[16] and searching for different collectibles including comms, relics and artifacts, and Echoes.[17] Players encounter different weapon vendors, which buy trinkets (unusable "junk" items that players collect), and unwanted gear in exchange for E-credits, the game's currency, which can used to purchase new weapons, crafting and appearances changes.[18]
The Division 2 features three Dark Zones, each of which supports up to 12 players. Dark Zones are areas in which players defeat tough enemies for valuable and rare loot, though the loot can be taken by other players. Upon entering a Dark Zone, players' gear become normalized to ensure that all players are in a level playing field. Non-contaminated loot belongs to players once collected, but contaminated loot must first be extracted by a helicopter while players defend the extraction point from AI enemies and other players.[19] When one player breaks into a Dark Zone chest or steals a Dark Zone supply drop, the player and their team will become rogue. Rogue players can attack other players in the same session to steal their loot and gain XP. Once they eliminate another player, they become "disavowed," which alerts other non-rogue players. If the disavowed rogue eliminates more players, they're designated a "Manhunt Rogue"; players who kill the rogue agent will receive a significant bounty.[20] Rogue status can be removed by surviving in the Dark Zone for a period of time or accessing the Thieves' Dens (for rogues) and Manhunt terminals (for Manhunt rogues).[21] The Dark Zone has its own progression system, DZ XP, which are earned by killing enemies and rogues, and can be used to unlock perks and gameplay advantages such as a reduced rogue timer.[22] The Division 2 also features a traditional competitive multiplayer mode named Conflict, where players can compete against each other in modes such as Skirmish and Domination.[23]
When a player reaches level 30 and finishes the game's campaign, the game-world is divided into "world tiers," which serve as different chapters and thresholds for further increasing the game's difficulty. Levels are replaced by Gear Score, which is calculated based on the stats, attributes, and talents of all the weapons and armor players have. In the endgame, a new enemy faction named Black Tusk invades DC via a large hovercraft, and randomly selects three previously completed missions or strongholds as operational targets, reactivating them as "invaded" locations.[24] These invaded locations feature tougher enemies and correspondingly, better loot. By completing Invaded missions and having sufficient Gear Score, players can liberate a stronghold, which then unlocks the next world tier.[25] Players can encounter 52 bosses, collectively known as the Deck of 52; each boss will drop a collectible card for players to collect once they are defeated.[16] When players reach the endgame, they can unlock more skills by specializing their character to a specific class. Each specialization has its own signature weapon. The Survivalist uses a crossbow, the Sharpshooter wields a TAC-50 anti-materiel sniper rifle, and the Demolitionist uses a M32A1 grenade launcher.[26] Post-launch updates introduced the Gunner who can utilize a portable minigun,[27] the Technician who is equipped with a missile launcher,[28] and the Firewall class who wields a flamethrower.[29] Players can enter Occupied Dark Zones, in which weapons are no longer normalized, friendly fire is activated, AI enemies become more difficult to kill, and players are no longer notified when other players turn rogue.[22] The game features raids, which can be completed by up to eight players,[30]
In 2015, in response to the chaos and unrest caused by the outbreak of the Green Poison epidemic (Tom Clancy's The Division) in New York City, the United States government activated a secret contingent of domestic sleeper agents under the Strategic Homeland Division (SHD; or "the Division") to preserve order and continuity of government. Division agents leverage advanced technology and wide autonomy to deal with threats as they see fit, and are supplemented by the Intelligent System Analytic Computer (ISAC), an advanced AI system that manages their technology and communications nationwide.
However, by 2016, the Green Poison has sparked a global pandemic, and most sense of law and order has collapsed. Most of the federal government's leadership is dead or missing, including Acting U.S. President Andrew Ellis, feared missing or dead after Air Force One is shot down in Washington, D.C. The city itself is now lawless and has been divided into territories across five factions: the Joint Task Force (JTF), a combined task force of police, fire and rescue, National Guard, disaster response organizations, and volunteers that attempts to protect civilians and reestablish order, based in the White House; the Civilian Militia, a loose militia that supports the JTF, based in settlements across the city; the Hyenas, a loose coalition of gangs, criminals, and anarchists taking advantage of the chaos for amusement and profit, based in the District Union Arena; the Outcasts, fanatical survivors of severe quarantines that seek revenge on those they deem responsible for their imprisonment and eventual infection, based on Roosevelt Island; and the True Sons, an organized and ruthless group of disgruntled and corrupt JTF, U.S. military, and paramilitary mutineers who believe order can only be restored through brutal authoritarianism, based in the Capitol.
Seven months after the Green Poison outbreak, several Division agents are defending a civilian settlement from a bandit attack when ISAC suddenly shuts down. The player Agent receives a Division distress call from Washington, D.C., as a new and larger force begins to attack the JTF's settlement. At a fellow agent's urging, they abandon the battle to travel to D.C. and help the JTF fend off an attack by the Hyenas. The Agent is briefed by Manny Ortega, the city's Division controller, who informs them of the situation in the city. Ortega instructs the Agent to work with fellow agent Alani Kelso to assist civilian settlements, liberate the city from criminal factions, and restore ISAC.
Ortega and Kelso uncover information that a cure to Green Poison might be located somewhere in the city, and that President Ellis may have survived the crash but is being held prisoner. Kelso is reluctant to waste time and resources to find Ellis, but Ortega notes his security clearance may be needed to access the cure. The Agent eventually rescues Ellis from the Hyenas. Ellis confirms that broad spectrum antivirals to cure not just Green Poison, but all viral infections, exist; however, he can only access them with a special briefcase in the Capitol, which is occupied by the True Sons. After the Agent fully restores ISAC, reconnecting Division agents across the country, Ellis vows to restore the United States, no matter the cost. The Agent, JTF, and the Civilian Militia assault the strongholds of the Hyenas, True Sons, and Outcasts, killing most of their leadership and allowing the recovery of Ellis' briefcase.
As the Agent and the Division celebrate their victory, a new faction, the technologically advanced private military company Black Tusk, invades the city. Many of D.C.'s landmarks are quickly seized and Ellis suddenly goes missing with his briefcase, forcing the Agent to head out to find Ellis and repel Black Tusk. The Agent eventually learns that Black Tusk supplied weapons to the gangs of D.C. and were responsible for sabotaging ISAC, Ellis has been working with Black Tusk all along, and that Ellis' predecessor, President Mendez, did not commit suicide as previously believed, but was assassinated by his own Secret Service detail on Black Tusk's orders. Thanks to Ellis, Black Tusk gains possession of the broad spectrum antivirals, planning to transport them out of the city. The Agent successfully raids Black Tusk's stronghold at Tidal Basin, retrieving the antivirals and preventing a missile strike on the White House, but Ellis' location remains unknown.
The Agent and Kelso travel to New York City, answering a distress call from Faye Lau, leader of local Division operations. They find the JTF and Division's base in City Hall devastated by "Eclipse", a highly-lethal variant of Green Poison created by rogue Division agent Aaron Keener and his allies. The Agent, Kelso, Lau, and JTF leader Roy Benitez regroup at Haven, a civilian settlement run by Paul Rhodes, who reluctantly permits their presence. The settlement is under constant attack and harassment from the Cleaners and the Rikers, a group of sadistic Rikers Island escapees that now work as arms traffickers.
As Keener's whereabouts are unknown, the group goes after his four lieutenants, rogue Division agents who act as warlords in Lower Manhattan, operating from The Tombs, Two Bridges, Battery Park, and the New York Stock Exchange, respectively. The Agent eliminates the four warlords and recovers intelligence placing Keener on Liberty Island. The Agent and Kelso commandeer a ferry to Liberty Island, but are attacked by Black Tusk, who have arrived in Manhattan to attack Keener and confiscate his work. The Agent fights off Black Tusk to reach Keener inside the Statue of Liberty Museum, where they learn Keener plans to use a surface-to-surface missile to infect all of Manhattan with Eclipse, killing everyone to allow Keener's own new society to flourish. The agent successfully destroys the system and mortally wounds Keener, who activates a signal on his modified Division wristwatch before dying.
Keener's signal activates ANNA, an AI analogue to ISAC developed by now deceased Warlord Parnell to network and coordinate rogue Division agents across the country. Lau, revealed to have betrayed the Division to ally with Black Tusk, assures Black Tusk commander Bardon Schaeffer that ANNA will help them defeat the Division. Back in Haven, Rhodes and Benitez thank and congratulate the Agent, but lament Lau's betrayal. Kelso informs the Agent of a rogue agent cell activated in Washington, D.C.
The game was developed by Massive Entertainment in collaboration with Ubisoft Reflections, Red Storm Entertainment, and Ubisoft's studios in Annecy, Paris, Bucharest and Shanghai.[31] Evaluating the feedback from players regarding the first game, the team included more game content at launch.[32] The game's endgame development was prioritized, as the studio was surprised by how quickly players consumed the base game of The Division and was left with nothing to do.[33] The endgame in The Division 2 was therefore, designed to be more robust and further enhance the game's replayability. Black Tusks invasion offered a different set of challenges when compared with the main game, and their AI were designed to be more aggressive and coordinated when compared with other factions. The team also listened to the wishes of the community, introducing more character customization options, and post-launch updates introduced in the first game were available at launch.[34] The game world was also designed to be more lived in, with emergent events that players can trigger simply by exploring the game's world.[31] To set The Division 2 apart from the first game in the series, the team spent part of the development process revamping the game's weapons based on player feedback and reworking the game's mod system, alongside class specializations.[35]
While Massive once explored keeping the sequel in New York City or moving it to other cities such as Seattle and New Orleans, Washington DC was ultimately chosen as the game's main setting. The team described the game's map as an one-to-one recreation of the city.[36] The team utilized the Geographic Information System and lidar data to create the floor plan of the in-game map.[31] The team added that Washington DC offered a diverse set of environments, allowing players to engage in more varied firefights and requiring players to use more diverse tactics during enemy encounters.[37] The Division 2 has six biomes, as opposed to only two in its predecessor.[38] Unlike the city blocks of New York City, the spaces in Washington DC were designed to be more open and spacious. This prompted the team to improve the enemy artificial intelligence (AI) which can now utilize the terrain to their advantage, flanking the player and generally behaving more aggressively. The diverse environment also enabled for more varied level design, the incoproation of natural covers, and the inclusion of more interior spaces.[39] The team conducted several visits to the city to aid their location research, and spoke with DC citizens in order to capture the “soul" of the city.[39][40]
As The Division 2 is set seven months after the pandemic outbreak, DC is in a state of despair, much more so than New York City in the first game. Areas became flooded due to failing infrastructure, and vegetation began to reclaim parts of the city.[39] Massive consulted with botanists, first responders and experts in emergency management,[31] and took inspirations from real-life disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, while creating the game's post-apocalyptic world.[41] The game also aimed to explore how civilians organize themselves during times of adversity, and the player's role was to help rebuild these communities.[41] The team relied on environmental storytelling to explore what happen during the seven months of crisis.[40] DC was chosen for raising the stakes of the story, being an important symbol for power and the nation.[39] Showing national monuments in ruins created powerful imagery indicating a complete collapse of society.[41] Despite this, Ubisoft repeatedly clarified that The Division 2 was "apolitical" and that it did not intend to convey any political message through the game.[42]
Main missions in the game are set in iconic locations and major monuments such as the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, though players progress through helping various civilian settlements, which in turn unlocks more activities.[40] The team also intentionally crafted spaces that players were unlikely to visit in real life, such as a Cold War bunker for one of its missions.[39] The game features three main factions: Hyenas was a gang of “opportunistic raiders"; True Sons was a ruthless paramilitary organization led by former JTF officers; the Outcasts were previously improsioned citizens seeking revenge for their mistreatment.[43] Each faction has their own distinct combat AI to better establish their identity.[44] Both the player character and enemies in the game, however, will die in a shootout much faster than the first game as the team wanted gameplay to be more "intuitive" and more akin to that of a tactical shooter.[45] Gunplay was also designed to be impactful, with the team creating more elaborated and visible combat animations.[31]
The team placed a larger focus on player-versus-player competitive multiplayer when compared with the first game.[46] The Dark Zones returned in The Division 2, though they were designed to attract to a larger pool of players. Gears normalization was implemented to ensure that all players can compete fairly, though Occupied Dark Zones were created for players who prefer the gameplay style of the first game. While all the loots collected in Dark Zone in the first Division game always required helicopter extraction, second-tier "non-contaminated loot" was introduced to make the experience more rewarding and less punishing.[47] The three Dark Zone locations were based in Washington Union Station, the DC waterfront, and Georgetown, with each map supporting different playstyle.[46] As Dark Zones are set in uninhabited area, the team went to Chernobyl to record its quietness in an attempt to create an unsettling atmosphere.[48] The Dark Zones were placed in the opposite ends of the map, so that they can expand on them in future updates. Efforts were made to entice PvE players to try out Dark Zones, with the team rewarding common PvE actions such as stealing supply drops thourgh the revamped Rogue status system. Checkpoint camping was discouraged, as defense systems in each Dark Zone will attack players with the highest Rogue status automatically.[46] To extend the game's longevity, custom maps were created for the game's Conflict mode.[47] They are set in standalone locations that are not contagious with the main open world map.[47]
The game was announced on March 9, 2018, by Ubisoft, with the first gameplay footage being premiered at the E3 2018 in June 2018.[49] At the Expo, Ubisoft confirmed that the game would be released on March 15, 2019, for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One.[50] A private beta was launched prior to the game's release, starting on February 7, 2019, and ending four days later on February 11.[51] A four-day open beta for the game also started on March 1, 2019.[52] It was released as an exclusive for the Epic Games Store and Ubisoft's own Uplay store, and was released for Steam on January 12, 2022, approximately three years after the game's initial launch.[53] The game, including all expansions to date, launched on Stadia on March 17, 2020. It shares cross-platform play with PC users along with shared progression between those platforms.[54] The game was also made available on Amazon Luna on November 23, 2020.[55]
The Division 2 was billed as a live service video game, with Ubisoft supporting it with various free updates following its initial launch. After the game's release, three episodes of downloadable content, which add new story content and gameplay modes, were released.[56] Players who purchased the Year 1 Pass received these content early and gained access to several missions known as "Classified Assignments".[57] The first episode, titled D.C. Outskirts: Expedition, was released in July 2019, introducing two new campaign missions which sees players searching for the missing president and eliminating the leader of the Outcasts, and a three-part expedition set in Kenly College in which the Division must reach a lost convoy with valuable supplies.[58] The second episode, titled Pentagon: The Last Castle, was released in October 2019, adding two new missions based in The Pentagon and a DARPA research laboratory. In this episode, the Division and Black Tusk agents raced against each other to discover a secret in the defense headquarters.[59] The last episode, Coney Island: The Hunt, was released in February 2020, taking place in Coney Island. In this episode, the player must look for a scientist who may have find the cure for the virus that caused the global pandemic.[60]
In March 2020, Massive released Warlords of New York, the game's first paid expansion pack. The expansion raised the level cap to 40, though new players can directly access the expansion as a level 30 character.[61] The expansion closes the story arc established in the base game and its subsequent episodes, while introducing returning factions from the first game, such as the Rikers and the Cleaners. It also featured a new map based in a hurricane-ravaged Lower Manhattan, which was broken into four distinct areas. The expansion also introduced new gadgets, an overhaul to the gear system, more varied boss fights,[62] and global events, which are gameplay modifiers. Mechanical changes introduced in this expansion will also be available for players who did not purchase it, though they will not be able to access the New York map. Starting from the game's second year of release, it adopted a seasonal model, with Ubisoft releasing manhunt targets and gameplay events over a 12-week "season".[63] While post-launch support was set to end by late 2020 as Massive shifted their attention to Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Star Wars Outlaws, Warlords of New York was more successful than the team had initially anticipated, prompting Massive and co-development partner Ubisoft Bucharest to release more seasons and updates for the game.[64] The team had to re-run seasons in 2021 and early 2022, before the first major update, "Season 9: Hidden Alliance", was released in May 2022.[65] Ubisoft is still supporting the game, with "Year 6 Season 1 First Rogue" being the latest season when it was released in June 2024.[66]
A number of game modes were introduced following the game's initial release. Ubisoft also released the first raid named "Operation Dark Hours" in May 2019. Set in Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the raid was described by Ubisoft to be the biggest challenge for all The Division 2 players, requiring 8 players to cooperate with each other and complete a series of objectives.[67] The second raid, titled "Operation Iron Horse", was released in June 2020.[68] Ubisoft released a new game mode named "The Summit" on September 22, 2020. In this mode, up to four players work as a team and ascend a 100-story skyscraper, combating increasingly difficult enemy forces.[69] Season 9 introduced "Countdown", in which a team of four must attempt to stabilize a failing nuclear power station within 15 minutes.[70] In April 2023, the team introduced the "Descent" mode. Set in a training simulation, players, either playing solo or with up to 4 players, must complete a series of encounters starting with basic weapons. Borrowing mechanics from roguelike games, players became gradually more powerful as they acquire talent points.[71] Ubisoft once experimented with a battle royale mode, though it was subsequently reworked into The Division Heartland, which was cancelled in 2024.[72] Ubisoft also released cosmetic items and weapons skins based on other franchises such as Resident Evil and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.[73]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | (PC) 84/100[74] (PS4) 82/100[75] (XONE) 82/100[76] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Destructoid | 8.5/10[77] |
| Game Informer | 9/10[78] |
| GameSpot | 9/10[79] |
| GamesRadar+ |   [80] |
| IGN | 8.5/10[81] |
| PC Gamer (US) | 82/100[82] |
| Slant Magazine | 7/10[83] |
Tom Clancy's The Division 2 received "generally favorable reviews" from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[74][75][76] The expansion, Warlords of New York, also received generally favourable reviews with the exception of the PS4 version, which received "mixed or average" reviews.[84]
Chris Carter from Destructoid praised the game for its tight, satisfying gunplay, and he was impressed by the responsiveness of the game's artificial intelligence.[77] Johnny Chiodini from Eurogamer noted that the game significantly expanded on the foundations established on the first game, introducing various new gadgets and interesting changes to customization and gears.[85] Matt Bertz from Game Informer praised the more impactful gunplay, noting that enemies can be defeated much quicker when compared with the first game, though noted that the cover system was "finicky".[78] GameSpot's Edmond Tran noted the that combat in the game was tense and exciting, with the game's wide range of enemy types forcing players to adopt different tactics on the fly.[79] The game's progression system, which regularly rewarded players with new gadgets and gears, was also praised.[77][79][80][82] Critics also applauded the game's mission design and level design, with gameplay segments set in various landmarks and mounments of Washington DC being singled out.[80][77][78][85][82] Massive's digital recreation of Washington DC was praised. Tran called DC as an "engrossing, believable, and contiguous open world",[79] and James Duggan from IGN praised Massive's attention to details, which invited players to explore.[81] Writing for PC Gamer, Samuel Roberts felt that DC was much more dynamic, though not as recognizable, as New York City in the first game.[82] Chiodini remarked that the sunny DC location was not as atmospheric as the snowy New York.[85]
The endgame also received positive reviews. Carter praised the endgame for its replayability. While he noted that it reuses locations from the campaign, Black Tusks as an enemy faction is fierce, and it provides ample opportunities to explore various builds, promoting players to work cooperatively.[77] Chiodini described the Black Tusks as a very aggressive faction, and that reaching th endgame section of The Division 2 felt similar to "a genuine step up, rather than the start of a long and dreary grind". He also applauded the incorporation of world tiers as a way to further increase the game's longevity.[85] Bertz praised Massive for incorporating new gameplay objectives in the endgame, and the core gameplay loop managed to keep players engaged and invested from the campaign to the endgame.[78] Tran praised the wealth of activities in the endgame, and remixed missions created new combat scenarios which were progressively more challenging.[79] Tran described Dark Zones as "fascinating", adding that it "adds additional facets of tension, distrust, and dishonesty" to the game.[79] Roberts noted that all three Dark Zones were designed differently, and they were still capable of creating tense, player-generated stories.[82] Duggan, however, expressed his disappointment, feeling that it lacked the dynamic of the first game.[81] Many critics praised The Division 2 for being feature-complete and having a stable performance at launch.[77][78][80]
The narrative of the game was criticized. Carter noted that the game lacked a strong story filled with forgettable characters and faceless enemies.[77] Tom Hoggins from The Daily Telegraph called the story "wafer-thin" and that the game was thematically uninspiring despite its evocative setting.[86] While Bertz praised the game's environmental storytelling, he was disappointed that Massive never explored the pandemic and the fall of the US in any meaningful way in the game's main story.[78] Tran also shared similar views, noting that "the opportunity to use The Division 2 to create meaningful fiction is wasted".[79] Chiodini described the story of "awful", and criticized the writers for evoking a "sense of poignancy" without exploring any political theme. He added that the game "pulls in these bits of American history with unwavering earnesty and yet manages to say absolutely nothing".[85] Aaron Riccio from Slant Magazine wrote that the game symbolized the regression of the Tom Clancy's brand, a franchise that once dealt with "complex geopolitical entanglements before turning to a modern-day fetishization of guns and violent, paramilitary engagement".[83]
The Division 2 was the UK's best-selling game the week it was released, although its sales figures were 20% of the original game's launch-week sales.[87] In Japan, approximately 63,817 physical units for PlayStation 4 were sold during its launch week becoming the number one selling game of any format.[88] In the US, it was the best-selling video game of March 2019, and the ninth best-selling game of the year, according to the NPD Group.[89][90]
Ubisoft's decision to skip releasing the game on Steam at launch, with six times more players preordering the game on Ubisoft Store when comparing with its predecessor.[91] The game's sales on consoles failed to meet Ubisoft's expectations, with Ubisoft citing increased competition in the genre as a factor leading to the game's disappointing performance. Ubisoft added that the sales on PC were similar to that of the first game.[92] The game sold more than 10 million copies during the eighth generation of video game consoles.[93]
It was revealed during testimony in the Epic Games v. Apple antitrust lawsuit that, between May 9–11, 70–90% of the online transactions for the game's download were fraudulent, as scammers were using stolen credit card numbers to buy Ubisoft games in the Epic Games Store, which prompted a "profuse" email apology from Epic CEO Tim Sweeny to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. "Fraud rates for other Epic games store titles are under 2% and Fortnite is under 1%. So 70% fraud was an extraordinary situation."[94][95]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Game Critics Awards 2018 | Best Action/Adventure | Nominated | [96] |
| Best Online Multiplayer | Nominated | |||
| 2019 | Game Critics Awards 2019 | Best Ongoing Game | Nominated | [97] |
| Develop:Star Awards | Best Game Design | Nominated | [98] | |
| Best Audio | Nominated | |||
| 2019 Golden Joystick Awards | Best Multiplayer Game | Nominated | [99] | |
| The Game Awards 2019 | Nominated | [100] | ||
| 2020 | 16th British Academy Games Awards | Multiplayer | Nominated | [101] |
Tom Clancy's The Division Heartland, a free-to-play spin-off, entered development in 2020. However, the game was cancelled in 2024.[102] Tom Clancy's The Division Resurgence, a free-to-play game for Android and iOS was expected be released in Ubisoft's 2025 fiscal year.[103] A sequel, Tom Clancy's The Division 3 is in development with Julian Gerighty serving as the game's executive producer.[104]
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