Though many assumed that Ubisoft’s post-apocalyptic shooter The Division would launch later this year, the company confirmed today that it won’t be released until Q2 2015 at the earliest.
In extending the developing window, Ubisoft intend to avoid any possible compromises in quality in a similar vein to Watch Dogs, which itself was abruptly delayed by six months so as to fine-tune the game’s core mechanics. In order to add context to the decision, the company published the following statement through its official site:
“Working on The Division is a once in a lifetime opportunity for all of us at Massive, Reflections, and Red Storm Entertainment. We are creating something we are really proud of and we don’t want to compromise on quality. We are going to release the game when it’s ready.”
Initially, The Division was slotted to release this year after it stole the show at E3 2013; in fact, the company’s CEO Yves Guillemot claimed that it would see the light of day by late 2014. However, given the lack of footage released hitherto and the scope of the game itself, it’s clear that this date was tentative at best.
Set against the bleak backdrop of a post-pandemic New York City, The Division boasts a persistent open-world in which players compete for supplies and territories in typical apocalyptic fashion. Moreover, the third-person title also takes full advantage of Ubisoft’s all-new Snowdrop game engine, which is said to allow for unprecedented realism.
Much like The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, Mad Max and, more recently, Dying Light, The Division has invariably slipped into 2015. I’ll guess we’ll just have to take solace in Miyamoto’s rather apt quote in that a delayed game is eventually good, but a bad game is bad forever.
