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The Division's E3 teaser is all... Christmasy
The Division may not be coming out until next year, but you can get a (very) brief taste of it in Ubisoft's new E3 teaser. Really, it's nothing more than a teaser for the show and the upcoming reveals, but the shot of New York City in fast motion set against a soft voice singing "Silent Night" delivers on atmosphere if not details. You can check it out after the break.
The Division developers explain the 2015 delay
A lot of people weren't particularly surprised to learn that The Division was being delayed until 2015, but it's still nice to find out exactly why. After all, if you're looking forward to the game at all, you would like to see it sooner rather than later. Gamereactor recently spoke with the development studio, and the developers explained the core reason behind the delay as simply being a matter of properly exploring the concept rather than releasing an unfinished game on a tighter schedule. According to the interview, the development team was upset at the original announcement of a 2014 release, as there had been no in-house discussion of release dates. The game's engine is quite powerful, but even the 2015 date may be overly optimistic, with The Division's multiplayer components still having major issues with implementation. Hopefully the delays will help ensure that the game is more polished and playable when it does release, whether that's in 2015 or later.
The Division delayed to 2015
Remember that rumor where an Ubisoft employee used the word "laughable" to describe the 2014 launch window for The Division? As it turns out, it was pretty much spot on. "As you have noticed, The Division is not included into our full-year guidance," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said during today's financial call. "It will now be released in calendar 2015. We will provide more information on this highly anticipated new brand at E3."
The Division shoots for realistic weapons from Tom Clancy studio
Rainbow Six studio Red Storm is helping Ubisoft's Swedish house Massive Entertainment and UK studio Ubisoft Reflections with development of The Division, the open-world Tom Clancy game due out in 2014. Mainly, Red Storm's help comes in the form of realistic weaponry. "I, personally, have been doing it for about six years now," Red Storm Lead Weapons Designer JD Cragg says in an Ubisoft blog post. "One of the guys on my team has been doing it for almost nine. This is pretty much all I do – authentic military weapons, vehicles and that sort of thing." Red Storm is focusing on the weapons artwork, and it has an in-house authenticity department and connections with the local military. The studio has "tens of thousands of photos" of broken-down firearms. "We've had manufacturers come in and literally disassemble the entire weapon all the way down to the nuts and bolts, and our guys are taking hi-res photos of those things," Red Storm Producer Tony Sturtzel says. "We probably have unparalleled access to these types of things because of our authenticity department and their focus on relationships. We're not ever gonna let the cat out of the bag on some of the relationships we have." The Division is due out in 2014 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One, though that release window is reported to be "laughable," according to a Massive Entertainment team member. [Image: Ubisoft]
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Tom Clancy's The Division 'never goes offline' during development
Ubisoft is currently promoting the visual and practical strengths of its "Snowdrop" engine, an always-on real-time development toolset built for Tom Clancy's The Division. Given the primary audience attending the Game Developers Conference, Ubisoft is focusing more on the engine than the post-apocalyptic nitty gritty of the game itself, which is being made for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. With The Division's progress and 2014 release being questioned in recent rumors, though, I asked Ubi-owned developer Massive Entertainment for some clarity on how it's being built. According to Rodrigo Cortes, Massive's Brand Art Director, "game and technology is the same," and it "never goes offline."
GDC 2014: Ubisoft shows off its Divison-powering Snowdrop engine
Ubisoft Massive showed off a three-minute trailer focused on its Snowdrop game engine at this week's GDC event in San Francisco. The first title powered by the new tech is UM's MMO shooter The Division, which also features heavily in the clip's behind-the-scenes footage. "Working with the engine is kind of like solving a puzzle," explains environment artist Jill Jarlestam. "The elements are already there so it's just a matter of how you combine them together." You can watch the full video by clicking past the cut.
Ubisoft Massive releases new concept art for The Division
Ubisoft Massive has released a new piece of concept art for its Division shooter. MP1st speculates that it may depict some sort of social hub, but the devs behind the Tom Clancy-inspired game haven't said one way or the other. The Division was first announced at E3 2013. Earlier this year, rumors circulated relating to the title's proposed 2014 release date and whether or not it can actually be achieved.
Ubisoft teases more screenshots for The Division
News about the MMO shooter Tom Clancy's The Division hasn't exactly been prolific in recent days. In fact, we haven't heard a peep of official news since December. But thanks to MP1st, we have two new screenshots to to remind us that the game is in development -- and that it looks pretty good. Ubisoft released the latest shot of a soldier hunkered down on a New York City rooftop earlier today; the other shot gives us a glimpse of possible underground adventures. Check them both out beyond the break.
Ubisoft Reflections involved with The Division development
The Division, the third-person, open-world shooter set in a Tom Clancy universe, is in co-development by Massive Entertainment and Driver: San Francisco developer Ubisoft Reflections. Develop reported the partnership from an interview with Reflections' Managing Director, Pauline Jacquey. Jacquey estimated that "about 40 percent" of Reflections is currently working on The Division, adding that the team is involved with "all of the game's systems: main characters, enemies, RPG pillars, building Manhattan, online components and so on." Jacquey added that Reflections started working on The Division a few months ago. The partnership reveal follows last month's rumor that development "has barely started" on The Division, with the same source describing a 2014 release date as "laughable." [Image: Ubisoft]
Rumor: Ubisoft employee says The Division's 2014 release date 'feels laughable'
Remember The Division? If not, then let us remember it for you: It's a pretty slick-looking MMOish shooter thing that Ubisoft unveiled at E3 2013. First it was console-only, then the internet cried, then Ubisoft caved and said, OK, we'll make a dedicated PC version, too. Apparently development on the game isn't that far along, at least according to a source inside Ubisoft Massive. "The game engine works well, it's not done but works well. The actual game development has barely started, however," the source told GameReactor. "The fact that Ubisoft has gone public with a 2014 release date feels laughable to be perfectly honest, we will never be able to release The Division this year. It's a large project, and we have very far to go."
Rumor: Development on The Division 'has barely started'
According to a source at The Division developer Ubisoft Massive, the PC, PS4 and Xbox One game won't be able to meet its projected 2014 launch. The game takes place in New York as it's swept up in a global pandemic triggered during Black Friday. "The game engine works well, it's not done but works well. The actual game development has barely started, however," a Ubisoft Massive source has told GameReactor. "The fact that Ubisoft has gone public with a 2014 release date feels laughable to be perfectly honest, we will never be able to release The Division this year. It's a large project, and we have very far to go." We contacted Ubisoft and were given the standard boilerplate response: "We do not comment on rumors or speculation." The Division, an online open-world RPG with shooter elements set in the Tom Clancy universe, was revealed at E3 last year. A subsequent press release from Ubisoft following the announcement guaranteed the game for 2014, though CEO Yves Guillemot clarified during an investor's call a month later that release would be closer to the end of 2014 than the beginning of the year.
Perfect Ten: New MMOs to watch in 2014
Out with the old desk calendars that you didn't use past February 2013 and in with the new, I always say! It's a brand-new year, and while we don't know all of the twists and turns that we'll travel in MMO news in 2014, I dare say it promises to be a fascinating ride. Last January I gave my list of 10 new MMOs to watch for that year, and I'm a sucker for traditions. With 2014 a mostly blank slate right now, I want to lay out the up-and-coming class of games that at least have a shot at releasing by December. There are the big names, of course, but several other titles that could be sleeper hits if all goes right. Which will succeed, which will flop, and which won't even get out of the door? I don't claim to know all, but I know all, so here are my prognostications for 2014!
The Division will be optimized for PC, not a port
Fans waiting for Tom Clancy's The Division to hit the PC will be happy to know that the game won't be just a port over from the console "but a full-fledged, optimized version," according to the newest Community Q&A. The remainder of the Q&A focuses on the the Snowdrop engine, detailing the features that make it unique and will allow players to feel more immersed in the shooter's universe. Thanks to the Snowdrop, devs feels their destruction system is the most realistic to date, and players can check out the realism of the shaders, lighting, and particle effects in the many screenshots devs shared in the post.
Ubisoft shows off Snowdrop engine with help from Tom Clancy's 'The Division'
Ubisoft's showing off a new trailer for Tom Clancy's The Division, and it's a stunner. Sure, we don't hit every gaming trailer that comes across our radar, but this one certainly piqued our interest, as its good looks owe a lot to the new Snowdrop engine -- as the French game company puts it succinctly in today's blog post, "good luck taking [that Ferrari] for a test drive without an engine inside." The game got some face time at E3, alongside the company's eagerly anticipated hacker title Watch Dogs, and now Ubisoft is ready to spill a few more beans about what's under the hood, in conjunction with Spike's VGX awards. The game's developer, Massive, is talking up the engine's real-time workflow for testing and evaluating features, film-inspired lighting techniques and destruction effects that differ based on physical forces. Beyond that, Massive's not saying a lot, but the trailer below does a fair amount of speaking for itself.
Spike VGX round-up: Telltale's new projects, Cranky Kong, No Man's Sky and more
Despite ending with musical performances that closely resembled a form of torture, the Spike VGX show packed some decent surprises! Joel McHale and Geoff Keighley endured four three hours of nonstop programming, and they only seemed to want to murder each other a handful of times. Let's recap everything that was shown: Telltale Games' success with the first season of The Walking Dead seems to have granted them a Golden Key to any partnership they desire. Naturally, they've revealed Tales From The Borderlands, a collaboration with Gearbox Software that will be set in the Borderlands universe. They've also started work on a Game of Thrones series, which will be based off the HBO show. Both projects are slated for 2014. Cranky Kong has had it with these youngsters and their rambunctious romps through jungles, so much so that he's decided to chase them all as the fourth playable character in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Cranky must have gotten a few good strikes in with his cane for that delay, too, because the Kong family has settled on braving the Wii U's incoming frost on February 21. Titanfall had already shown a decent arsenal for blowing up buildings with, but in case you doubted its capabilities, Respawn Entertainment debuted two new mech types tonight. Aside from the Titans, Ogre and Stryder mechs will spread destruction across Titanfall's cityscapes. Ogres will be slow, clunky and powerful, while Stryders will focus on outrunning everyone on the field. Hello Games, the developer of the Joe Danger series, brought along the show's biggest surprise - No Man's Sky is a procedurally generated, exploration-focused sci-fi game planned for 2014. The game's trailer showcased vivid landscapes before blasting its way through asteroids in spacecrafts.
The Division receives fancy engine trailer during VGX
Ubisoft's The Division, planned for late 2014 on Xbox One and PS4, had a new trailer tonight during the VGX showing off the game's engine. So, check out next-gen slush.
Free for All: MMORPGs for your new console
Consoles and MMOs do not have the stand-offish relationship that they used to have. In fact, there are so many different MMOs to choose from on consoles that it's seriously tempting to pick up one of the new ones -- the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 -- even though I wasn't planning on it for a long, long time. I enjoy using a controller with MMOs so much that I plan on covering the subject more in the future. So let's get to the list of MMOs that are currently on consoles or that will be coming out on consoles in the near(ish) future. Massively's own Mike Foster put together a fantastic list last summer, but I thought I would update and pass it on. After all, the new consoles are officially here... so be sure to reference the list when you need a new MMO to play on your shiny new console!
Tom Clancy passes away at 66
Best-selling author Tom Clancy passed away last night in a Baltimore hospital at age 66, The New York Times confirmed via Twitter. No cause of death has been reported at this time. Clancy penned many military-themed novels, several adapted to video games including the popular Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell series. He co-founded Red Storm Entertainment in 1996, which was later purchased by Ubisoft in August 2000. The latest game to feature the author's name is Tom Clancy's: The Division, which is slated to launch in late 2014.
The Division also exploring snowy urban landscapes on PC
Tom Clancy's The Division was originally revealed for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One during this year's E3, but Ubisoft has announced that it will also bring its dystopian floating user interfaces to PC. Ubisoft's disclosure of the PC port makes no mention of how its release relates timewise to the console versions, which are slated for late 2014. Meanwhile, the game's latest trailer shows off its asymmetrical multiplayer, wherein helpful tablet user "Chloe" assists her console-using friend by tapping on baddies and shooting missiles from helicopters.
Tom Clancy's The Division officially coming to PC
Tom Clancy's MMO-ish shooter The Division has officially been announced for release on PC as well as consoles in late 2014. When originally revealed at this year's E3, Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft stated that the game would be for both the XBox One and the PS4, but, thanks to the power of online petitions and forums, the PC version is now official. You can watch the short announcement trailer just after the cut.
