Ubisoft has officially announced The revival of the division, a free-to-play mobile game that it hinted was in the works last year. The company says it will be an open-world, third-person RPG shooter like the main games, with single-player and co-op modes that let players compete against the environment in story missions and other ‘PvE activities’.
revival will take place in the same world as The division and The Division 2 did, though Ubisoft says the story will be “independent” from the original and provide a “unique perspective on key story events” as well as new characters and weapons. Personally, however, the trailer the company released for revival makes me think of lot from 2014 original movie trailer† It has many of the same beats and similar shots, although it takes away the heartbreaking story of a family consumed by disease (which, you know, is probably a good thing).
Ubisoft hasn’t said when the game will be released, though the trailer says it’s coming to Android and iOS devices “soon”. Meanwhile, the company plans to run a closed alpha where select players can test the game after signing an NDA.
Ubisoft has also said it is working on another free-to-play game in The division series called Hartland† leaked details make it seem Hartland will be a battle royale game similar to Apex Legends or Fortnite† That game will be coming to “PC, consoles and cloud” from May 2021, according to Ubisoft’s announcement, but it’s understandable why the company wants to make a mobile entry for the franchise as well. Phone-based games are a huge business and competitors like EA and Activision Blizzard have invested heavily in flagship releases for mobile platforms.
As we’ve seen with games like Diablo Immortal, although space can sometimes have a problem with predatory business models. Ubisoft hasn’t released details on what types of microtransactions revival will have – if it will have them at all. The press release mentions “collecting and upgrading” gear, as well as “unique signature weapons and gadgets” that you can swap out during gameplay, which are intended to add some strategy and let players “find the best co-op synergy with fellow co-op players.” division agents.” (Who of us doesn’t play games for that sweet sense of synergy with friends?) It seems possible that the system will come at a little extra cost; mobile games often use upgrades and gear as an opportunity to recharge users, and the original Division including a microtransaction system for cosmetics and skins†
Ubisoft has not responded to The edge‘s request for comment on whether revival would include any integration with its Quartz NFT platform or any blockchain component. The company said earlier this year that it would have more to say about Quartz in the future, though it has also confirmed that not every game it’s working on will have NFTs.