Amidst a slew of game announcements, Ubisoft revealed that The Division 3 is currently in development.
Ubisoft announced the game in a press release along with the franchise's new executive producer, Julian Gerighty -- who also serves as the creative director for Star Wars Outlaws -- and discussed their continued plans for the series. The French developer and publisher did not provide any details about the game or its potential release, but they confirmed the continued involvement of Swedish developer Massive Entertainment, who made the first two games.
Unlike most of its major game reveals, Ubisoft's announcement of The Division 3 was missing any significant fanfare or social media attention, instead being relegated to a small section of a larger press release about the franchise at large. According to Gerighty, the announcement was intended to show Ubisoft's dedication to the franchise.
The Division puts players in a post-pandemic America where they face off against warring factions of bandits and sometimes other players as they fight to liberate the city of Manhattan, or Washington, D.C. in the sequel. Both titles are third-person shooters with a heavy emphasis on loot mechanics and upgradable equipment, requiring players to farm missions or activities to earn materials to improve their stats.
While The Division received generally positive reviews and saw a healthy player base in the years following its launch, some fans criticized the game's repetitive nature. Released in 2019, The Division 2 fared slightly worse, seeing generally middling reviews with many players claiming that Ubisoft doubled down on the negative aspects of the first game despite praising its overall gameplay mechanics.
However, the game has still maintained a decent fanbase, with the franchise as a whole boasting over 40 million players at its peak. Still, Ubisoft has gone on record to admit that the franchise did not meet their expectations in terms of financial performance, leading them to restructure the franchise's leadership and produce a third game in spite of their previous refusal of new sequels.
The Division series is playable on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC via Steam or Ubisoft Connect.
Source: IGN