Tom Clancy's The Division is an open world shooter game that has been anticipated since its unveiling by Ubisoft at E3 2013. The game has faced a lot of delays, but a recent announcement at E3 2015 gives good news to those that are interested in the beta of the game, as well as a new trailer full of action.
There is now good news for those that can't wait to play Tom Clancy's The Division as the game will be launching an exclusive beta on the Xbox One this December, according to Shack News. This announcement was made during Microsoft's E3 conference, and Ubisoft also announced that Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2 will be some of the games that will support Xbox One's backwards compatibility feature that will be arriving sometime this winter. By the way, those that purchase the Division will receive copies of both Rainbow Six Vegas games for free.
In addition to those announcements about Tom Clancy's The Division at E3, before it even begins, there is a new E3 2015 trailer on YouTube that shows what type of game this is. It begins with shots of empty and abandoned rooms, buildings, and streets, and then shows action regarding The Division themselves. It ends with a voiceover of: "There cannot be any hope for tomorrow, if we don't fight for today".
According to IGN, Tom Clancy's The Division takes place in New York three weeks after a lethal virus is released on Black Friday. Society falls and the President activates The Division, a top-secret unit of self-supporting tactical agents. Division agents are trained to operate independently of command, and players will delve into the world of fallen New York City, which has been overrun by clans willing to do anything to survive. The gameplay involves exploring through New York through very familiar landmarks, and there will be a lot of third-party shooting.
In addition to the excellent gameplay and story, Tom Clancy's The Division includes "revolutionary companion gaming". This enables the player to join friends in real-time gameplay with exclusive characters on a smartphone or tablet. This application allows the player to have a bird's-eye view of the battlefield, giving him or her ability to attack enemies as well as place targets for allies. I'm not certain if the "revolutionary companion gaming" is a first for Tom Clancy's The Division, but it certainly sounds like something that could be a new gaming standard. There is even a report on realistic snow that will stick to the player and will melt when the player goes indoors.
According to Ubergizmo, it looks like Ubisoft has been working on the project very hard, and even bringing in extra help. However, it has been confirmed that Tom Clancy's The Division has been delayed in spite of all the extra work. The word comes from Ubisoft itself, who confirmed the delay during its financial earnings call today. Tom Clancy's The Division is now expected to be released in Q4 of fiscal year 2016, which will run from January through March 2016. This means that there will be no holiday release this year for the very highly anticipated game.
At least we know one of the reasons why Tom Clancy's The Division has been delayed. Ubisoft wants enough time to ensure that enough feedback is received from alphas and betas before the title comes to the market. Techno Buffalo also reports that Ubisoft is working on an unnamed big-budget game with a similar time frame, but it didn't mention anything about what style of game or if it is part of some already existing franchise.
With the 2016 release date, it is unknown when the beta for Tom Clancy's The Division will be available for Xbox One players. Also not mentioned is whether it will be an open or closed beta.
