The Division 2 creative director Julian Gerighty discusses the rumors about a battle royale mode, also teasing major post-launch DLC plans for the game.
Earlier this year, not along after The Division 2 was announced, a report circulated that suggest that developer Massive Entertainment had been looking into battle royale modes. Given the recent popularity of games like Fortnite Battle Royale and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, many were quick to believe that the developer was indeed working on such a mode. So, at E3 2018, the game made an appearance during the Ubisoft press conference, but there was no mention of said battle royale mode.
However, in an interview with Geoff Keighley, The Division 2 creative director Julian Gerighty did appear to hint at some sort of battle royale mode, or at least something that would appeal to battle royale fans. When asked if the team at Massive is aware of the battle royale trend, Gerighty said that “of course we keep an eye open.”
While the developer wouldn’t say outright that The Divison‘s Survival expansion DLC was Massive Entertainment’s version of a battle royale mode, Gerighty did highlight the similarities. Gerighty pointed out that Survival was a survival game-style battle against enemies and players, comparing it to the iconic horror movie Alien due to the tension, the drama and the way that players are steadily picked off.
The developer noted that a Survival expansion hasn’t been announced for The Divison 2 yet but he “wouldn’t be surprised if it made an apparition in Washington D. C.” Massive has recently teased The Division 2‘s post-launch DLC plans, confirming that DLC will be free in the game’s first year. Depending on when Survival is released, fans may not have to pay a cent to gain access to it.
In addition to the aforementioned report, a survey sent out by Ubisoft also polled players on a potential battle royale mode for The Division. That survey was sent out more than a year ago, meaning that Ubisoft and Massive have had access to a treasure trove of player feedback for a while – long enough to start work on a battle royale-inspired version of Survival and to have made significant progress with development too.
At this point, it’s unclear what the next inception of Survival may look like. But it’s reasonable to think that it will include more battle royale-like features, inspired by the current gaming trends and matched with the feedback from fans. That sort of combination could prevent the game from looking like it’s just getting in on the trend and can make it feel like a part of The Division 2 rather than a tacked on grab for cash. Watch this space for an official announcement.
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 will be available on March 15,2019 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
