Fans of Massive Entertainment’s Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 have been holding out hope for a version of the popular cover shooter designed for next-gen consoles, but the developer revealed in a recent interview that such a version is “unlikely” to happen. The unique loot shooter was recently infused with new content, and The Division 2 Season 11 launched late last month after a series of technical issues pushed back its original release date by several weeks.
Released in 2019 for PC and consoles, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 sequel moves its cover-based co-op action from the Big Apple to chaotic Washington, D.C. The region is still reeling from the dollar flu plague that broke out before Game 1. While the series got off to a rocky start in 2016 with the release of the innovative but ultimately flawed Tom Clancy’s The Division, the sequel managed to find a loyal audience thanks in large part to an improved game loop and unique unlockable content that will motivate players to return to the original heist shooter time and time again. Earlier this month, the hit game’s Year 5 roadmap was revealed at Ubisoft’s Division Day, along with new details about free-to-play The Division Heartland.
In a new interview excerpt from gaming site MP1st, The Division 2 creative director Yannick Banchereau pours cold water on the idea of releasing the popular heist shooter exclusively for next-gen consoles. In response to a question about a version of The Division 2 built from the ground up for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, Banchereau said it was “unlikely to happen” because “making full use of these would mean the game would no longer be available for older players.” Generation.” Banchereau emphasized that the studio made the decision to avoid fragmenting the player base by cutting off players on older hardware, adding that it “is not prepared to leave them behind and ask them to upgrade.”
While this news is sure to disappoint fans who were hoping for a version of The Division 2 to take full advantage of next-gen consoles, Massive Entertainment is understandably hoping to avoid alienating large segments of the gamer base by removing support for the game older hardware. After The Division 2 launched on Steam earlier this year, players have encountered numerous issues on Steam, and Massive may also want to avoid releasing an entirely new version of the game.
Fortunately, for players who played The Division 2 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, they can still enjoy higher frame rates and resolutions than older consoles. However, with a next-gen version seemingly off the table, and with recent rumors that Ubisoft isn’t working on The Division 3, fans of the series may have to wait a long time before they fully embrace modern consoles.
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 is available now on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.