Initially planned for release between 2021-2022, Tom Clancy’s The Division Heartland, a free-to-play spinoff of the popular post-apocalyptic shooter series, has been canceled by Ubisoft.
During their earnings call on Wednesday, Ubisoft announced that resources originally allocated to the game are now being redirected to larger opportunities such as XDefiant and Rainbow Six.
In a statement to IGN, Ubisoft explained, “After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to stop development on Tom Clancy’s The Division Heartland, effective immediately. Our focus now is to provide support to the talented team members at our Red Storm Entertainment studio, who will be transitioning to new projects within our company, including XDefiant and Rainbow Six.”
The game, developed by Red Storm Entertainment, has faced delays since its initial announcement with little to no updates in recent times. The game briefly raised hopes when it received a rating in Taiwan, but it appears this was a mistake.
Red Storm, located in North Carolina, was founded by Tom Clancy to create video game adaptations of his military thrillers. Ubisoft acquired the studio in 2000 and most recently contributed to the development of Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 (2019).
Over the last two years, Ubisoft has canceled a total of eight games in an effort to reduce costs. The earnings call also revealed a reduction of over 1,700 staff members in the past 18 months, a significant number that includes several studio closures.
How have people reacted to the cancellation of The Division Heartland?
Reactions from gamers have been mixed. “I was eagerly anticipating this game. It would have been a great option for a quick, free-to-play title with less focus on gear grind,” stated a Reddit user. However, many expressed relief that more resources can now be dedicated to The Division 3, announced in September 2023, instead of being split between the two games.
People have also expressed strong feelings about the news that the upcoming Assassin’s Creed game, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, will require a constant internet connection to play.
Featured image credit: Ubisoft
Leave a Comment