In The Division 2, a virus has swept across civilization. A scenario that fits the current threat posed by the Corona virus. This is not entirely coincidental. The “Tom Clancy” brand deals with threats that could arise in the near future, says an employee of Massive.
The developers say about the Corona virus: In an interview with Gamesbeat, Massive’s World Content Manager, Cloe Hammoud, was asked about the parallels between The Division 2 and the Corona virus (Covid 19).
The interview was published on February 11. At that time, the Corona virus was not yet as present in the West as it is now.
Hammoud stated that the situation with the Corona virus is “unfortunate timing.”
However, it apparently wasn’t so unlikely that a game from the Tom Clancy universe would deal with a threat affecting the real world.
Because Tom Clancy’s books revolve around “Clear and Present Danger,” the English name of Clancy’s novel “Das Kartell” from 1989. The novel addressed the influence of South American drug cartels on the USA and the danger they posed.
Later, Tom Clancy addressed other, contemporary threat scenarios, such as nuclear bombs, biological attacks, or assassinations.
The “Tom Clancy” brand addresses real threats
Hammoud explains: The “Tom Clancy” brand deals with such actual threats of the near future and investigates them.
She says that when they were working on The Division 2, they researched a lot in Washington D.C. and spoke with police and firefighters to find out how these people would respond to such disasters and how they would cope with them.
Indeed, many players praised The Division 2 for its detailed portrayal of the city of Washington and its landmarks in the game.
Apparently, Ubisoft not only researched the city but also disaster scenarios.
The virus plays an important role in the game series. It is the threat lurking in the background: The virus shapes the world, its effects are felt everywhere, in the game world and among the people in it.
A super virus threatens the world in The Division
How important is the virus in The Division? Especially in the base game of The Division from 2016, players continually confront the consequences of the virus and a pandemic.
The Division uses “Environmental Storytelling” to confront players with the collapse of civilization after the virus and the many human tragedies during the outbreak:
- Players find audio recordings to experience the fate of the population.
- They see the effects of the pandemic in the post-apocalyptic world they move through.
- Their opponents represent possible reactions to the catastrophe: The Cleaners want to purify everything “contaminated” with fire. The Looters want to pillage. The Hyenas try to find fun and joy in a declining world.
In 2016, Ubisoft released a video that clearly showed how realistic such a pandemic scenario could be.
In The Division 2, the virus is already several months old, and the world has reached a state of “post-apocalypse.” The Division 2 revolves around restoring civilization in Washington.
This is the virus in the world of The Division: In The Division, scientist Dr. Gordon Amherst developed a super virus to curb overpopulation. The virus was spread through dollar bills on the most important consumer day in the USA, Black Friday.
The scenario was critically thought out by The Division regarding consumerism. The developers saw parallels between a buying frenzy on Super Sale Day and looting during a catastrophe.
The mutated smallpox virus is designed to infect 95% of the population and kill between 80% and 90% of those infected.
The virus differs significantly from the current situation in the real world with the Corona virus. The Corona virus is neither “artificially created” nor does it have such a high mortality rate. The Corona virus is assumed to kill between 0.5% and 2% of those infected, which is still frighteningly high.
I feel a bit uneasy
This is how players respond: Even though the “Dollar Flu” in The Division differs significantly from the Corona virus, many players have recently been reminded of their game when they saw the impact of the Corona virus.
One player said that playing through New York now was “disturbing and incredibly immersive.” He didn’t know how he should feel about it.
Another player said: “Strangely, the mask I bought for Division cosplay is suddenly really useful.”
One more player said: “Look, all I’m saying is: In The Division, there’s a virus called Dollar Flu. And in the news, I’m reading that they’re burning banknotes in China because that’s how the virus spreads.”
Another stated that he felt “The Division 2 had now prepared him for the virus.” He had to hear: “Yes, that’s true. And Skyrim prepared me for the return of dragons.”
The player base of The Division 2 reflects the reactions to the Corona virus that we also experience in the real world. People fluctuate between fear and the admonitions not to panic and overreact.
- In an article, we look at the documentary series by Ubisoft about the catastrophe in The Division 1 and how close the scenario is to the real world.
- Here we examine the saddest story told in The Division 2.
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