What is Massive Entertainment actually doing right now? They have little to do with Year 2 of The Division.
These days, numerous agents are eagerly awaiting Update 1.8. This is supposed to be released in Autumn 2017 and will bring a lot of new content, such as a map expansion, two new game modes, a revision of the Dark Zone mechanics, and a lot more stuff that players have long been yearning for.
What is interesting is: All this content is not being created by Massive, the actual developers of Division, themselves. The new game modes and the changes to the Dark Zone come from the “Red Storm” studios, and the upcoming Global Events are being worked on by the Reflections Studios. Both are Ubisoft studios.
Overall, it seems that the “Red Storm” studios are leading the charge for Year 2 of The Division. In almost every “State of the Game” livestream in recent months, two Red Storm developers were present to introduce their new content.
This raises the question: What is Massive actually doing during this time?
Has Massive given up The Division?
In fact, it has been over a year since the Division developers from Massive personally went public to talk extensively about the shared-world shooter. This was during Update 1.4, which fundamentally revised and improved the endgame experience. The lead AI designer from Massive, Drew Rechner, and the senior game designer from Massive, Nikki Kuppens, presented the key changes at that time.
After that, it became quiet around the developers of Massive. Already the Update 1.6, which introduced the PvP mode “Last Stand,” was primarily developed by the “Red Storm” studios.
While the first ETF (Elite Task Force, a group of community representatives) for Update 1.4 still took place at Massive in Sweden, the community representatives for Update 1.6 were invited to the USA at Red Storm. The third ETF for Year 2 took place in England, at the Reflections Studios.
One thing is for sure: Massive Entertainment itself is currently putting in no (or hardly any) effort into the Year 2 content of The Division. What are they doing instead?
Avatar and The Division – What Massive is working on
Since spring 2017, it has been known that Ubisoft is planning a new Avatar game, which aims to achieve great things. Therefore, a strong studio should be behind it, placing a lot of emphasis on details and approaching the matter with great passion – and this studio is Massive Entertainment.
When this information became public, agents were up in arms. There were fears that this would be a death sentence for The Division. That Ubisoft and Massive would abandon The Division and replace it with a new project.
Shortly after that, community developer Hamish Bode calmed the nerves: The new Avatar game will not affect the ongoing development of The Division. They are hiring new people. The work will proceed separately. Massive continues to work on The Division.
A look at the Massive page underlines this statement. The studio is currently hiring new people. Over 40 new full-time positions are advertised. The majority refers to the “Avatar Project”. They are looking for programmers and designers.
However, Massive is also hiring numerous people for The Division, such as programmers, artists, and designers. In other words, work is currently being done in the background on the future of The Division.
The Division 2 or a Year 3?
The question is: Is Massive working on a Year 3 or perhaps a full sequel, a “The Division 2”? There are good arguments for both possibilities.
For a Year 3 speaks, that Massive made great efforts with Update 1.4 to make The Division future-proof. This update was a complete overhaul for the shared-world shooter, in 2017 PvP modes were and are being added, slowly the game is outgrowing its teething problems. It would be a shame if, after Year 2, they said: “Friends, that’s it!”
In the last Ubisoft financial report, they also mentioned that they want to focus more on “live operations” in the future – meaning that a game will be supplied with new updates and content over the years. This approach is one Ubisoft wants to pursue more intensively – whether it will also be applied to The Division with a Year 3 or whether a full sequel will come, the future will tell.
For a “The Division 2” there are also several arguments. Already in February 2017, Ubisoft revealed that no new title would be released for a currently successful franchise in 2017 – as was originally planned – but that it would be expanded through updates. This means that for a franchise, the original planning was thrown overboard and the year 2017 had to be bridged.
We assumed and still assume that this refers to the Division franchise. After all, Year 2 currently seems quite improvised. And this would mean: Massive is already working on the planned sequel – but is taking (at least) a year longer to meet the high demands of the community.
Perhaps the year 2018 comes too early for a The Division 2. Maybe the agents’ journey will continue in The Division 1. However, it is noticeable how quiet it has become around Massive. Most likely they are currently working tirelessly behind the scenes on something big for The Division.
Interesting: The Division: What can the 4 new exotic weapons do? – Update 1.8
