Ubisoft On How The Division 2 Will Be Better Than The Division 1

The Division was generally well-liked by critics and it was a commercial success, selling more copies at launch in March 2016 over its first 24 hours than any previous game in Ubisoft history. However, players left the game in part due to its lingering issues and lack of compelling content. To its credit, Ubisoft pushed hard to fix and improve the experience, and it worked to an extent, with the game reaching 20 million registered players by Ubisoft's count. Given the game's commercial success, it was unsurprising when a sequel was announced. And now, Ubisoft has spoken about how it plans to do better with The Division 2--right from the start.

"We were surprised a little bit by how fast people consumed content on [The Division 1]," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said during an earnings call today. "So we've been working with the teams to bring a lot of content at launch and to be ready to continue to supply content a lot during the years that follow the launch. We are working hard to make sure we have lots of content available so people can stay in the game for the long run."

For his part, Ubisoft CFO Alain Martinez said The Division 1's end-game was not as good as it could have been, and Ubisoft is taking steps to improve this with the sequel.

"Very clearly what we call the end-game part was something that [The Division 1] could have improved, and we believe that we've got it now [with The Division 2]," he said.

Martinez added that The Division's 1.8 update--which overhauled a handful of the game's systems and added more modes for players craving further variety--was well-received by players. It speaks to Ubisoft's commitment to improving the game for people still playing.

For The Division 2, Martinez said Ubisoft has the "right tools to deliver a much better game." Guillemot added that Ubisoft is leveraging all of the experience and feedback it received from The Division 1 to make The Division 2 a "fantastic" game.

The Division 2 is currently in the works at the same primary studios as the first entry, including Massive Entertainment, Red Storm, and Ubisoft Reflections. You'll be able to transfer some progress from the original game to Division 2, though how that will work is not yet clear. No more details have been discussed; the company says a full reveal is coming at E3 2018.