What condition is Ubisoft’s MMO shooter The Division in? Is there nothing standing in the way of a release early next year? According to industry insider Tidux, the online game is said to be in poor condition.
How much one can trust the statements of industry insiders is always a matter of debate. According to relevant media reports, Tidux seems to know what he is talking about, as he was the first to uncover the differences in resolutions of Star Wars: Battlefront on Xbox One and Playstation 4. Additionally, he accurately predicted the release of the new firmware version for the PS4. Therefore, there might be some truth to his claims this time as well.
Does The Division need to be delayed?
Tidux explained via Twitter that The Division is in very bad shape and he hopes that a release delay could help improve the game. When asked for clarification, he specified: The Division runs poorly on consoles, has little gameplay content, and is simply not fun.
What I’m hearing, running bad on consoles, low on content and not fun 2 play. Makes me sad. But I hope they fix it!
— Tidux (@Tidux) November 26, 2015
Bad news, #TheDivision is in real bad shape. I hope a delay can fix it. #PS4 #XboxOne — Tidux (@Tidux) November 26, 2015
The Division caused jaws to drop during its first presentation at E3 2013. An MMO set in a contemporary environment with fantastic graphics had many gamers drooling. Then followed a delay of the next installment, and the later presented scenes gave the impression that the graphics had visibly been toned down.
With Tidux’s current claim, it seems the online game is once again under a bad star. Ubisoft has not yet commented on these statements. For the company, it will also be difficult to provide a statement, as a further delay of the release date would unofficially confirm Tidux’s statements…
When is it supposed to come out? The current release date for The Division
What is really behind this?
Is there really something to this whole issue? It could be, as described above. However, there are a few other things to consider: on one hand, Tidux has often been wrong with his claims in the past. His statement regarding the resolution of Star Wars: Battlefront on consoles could have been made by anyone. Therefore, this should definitely be approached with caution. Furthermore, one should ask why only German media are reporting on this “scandal” so far. Is there an attempt to generate news where there might be nothing to report, and someone just wants to get into the media?
However, it is not that simple. Many players are also skeptical of Ubisoft. The graphic downgrade of the action game Watch Dogs and especially the bug disaster at the release of Assassin’s Creed Unity have left their mark. Additionally, despite a release in March 2016, there has been little of The Division presented so far. The same scenes are usually shown in presentations.
There is also the allegation of a graphic downgrade. When comparing current videos of the game with those from E3 2013, many statements indicate that there is indeed a noticeable difference. Supposedly, an anonymous developer also expressed criticism a while ago when Ubisoft still wanted to release the game in 2015. At that time, it was said that the development team did not even have a functioning game…
The Division is an extremely ambitious game, where developers should definitely take their time to release it in the best possible condition.
It’s a double-edged sword. Does someone want to gain media attention with vague statements? Does someone know more but cannot say due to an NDA? How much truth is there in the story?
A similar situation with The Division arose back in May of this year and we reported on it in a column. Back then, it was about an alleged reduction of the game world, a rumor that had been heavily promoted by the community and especially German media. At that time, it was nonsense. It could be the same this time.
One can only be sure when the beta of The Division starts this December, and one can see for oneself in what condition the game is at that time. Until then, all rumors are just that: rumors.
