In The Division there is no Christmas event – although the entire game world is decorated for Christmas.
Snow, Christmas trees, fairy lights, and a cheerful standing Santa Claus waving at you every few meters – that’s how one can imagine New York during the Advent season. And this is also how one can envision the setting of The Division, which is set shortly after Black Friday (that is, in the pre-Christmas period) in New York.
However, there is an annoying circumstance in The Division that dampens the Christmas spirit: The apocalypse has broken out. In this lovingly decorated Christmas setting, a picture of death, destruction, and chaos is drawn – a stark contrast to the festival of love. A contrast that can be seen at every corner in Ubisoft’s MMO shooter.
The live-action trailer for The Division also picks up the Christmas theme, with its own version of “Silent Night, Holy Night”:
No trace of a Christmas event
It may surprise some: Now that we have this Christmas season in which The Division takes place, nothing is happening at all. Numerous online games take this holiday as an opportunity to deliver new content, introduce new cosmetic items, and celebrate an extensive “Christmas event”.
Even games like FIFA 17, which at first glance appear to have nothing to do with Christmas, hold in-game events. Why are Massive and Ubisoft skipping this?
Full focus on title updates
Even during Halloween (which is also celebrated in numerous online games), Massive was asked if something was planned for The Division. At that time, the community developer Hamish Bode replied: No, there was no time for a Halloween event. The team had focused on update 1.4.
He also assumed that the community would understand: Better to focus on enhancing the player experience than to hold a short-term event.
The developers likely treated Christmas in a similar manner: Update 1.5 had a higher priority, and afterward, the eyes were directly on update 1.6. It has been known for just a few weeks that this will bring changes and new features for PvP.
But what do you think? Are you disappointed that The Division is skipping a Christmas event – even though the setting is already in place? Or are you glad that Massive is focusing on the “important” things and leaving short-term events behind?
By the way: There may not be an event for Christmas, but there are two gifts. Don’t miss them.
