COMMENTARY - The Division 2 Needs Cross Play To Maintain Momentum
Extend an olive branch.
By Jay Tee
15/02/21
A modest number of vocal supporters have tangibly given The Division 2 a new lease of life, with Ubisoft confirming that ongoing player engagement has led to the development of fresh content for later this year. The recent console optimised patches have also gone a long way toward reinvigorating the community, but cross play remains an elusive and frustrating omission.
I should add: the current PC to Stadia implementation doesn’t count, because, you know, Stadia. The Division 2 has just celebrated its second birthday, but back in 2019 it dropped amid a growing weariness of the Ubisoft open world template. Thankfully, the mechanics and sheer quantity of content did enough to ensure it differentiated itself, avoiding the fatigue of Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and retaining a passionate, albeit dwindling player base.
Several large updates, and the New York expansion later, The Division 2 quietly plodded along whilst clearly doing enough numbers to warrant a renewed commitment to future additions. But that also makes the lack of true cross play all the more baffling; the community is what has kept the game alive, and yet it's being segregated across arbitrary platform barriers. The game itself has never been better, with satisfying combat and a stupendous amount to see and do.
Ubisoft already have the answer sitting right in front of them; their rebranded “Ubisoft Connect” account software, which unifies saves and progression across their latest titles. The infrastructure is already there. Without knowing the specifics of upgrading features from a technical perspective, it seems like a no brainer to encourage folks to revisit the game irrespective of their chosen hardware.
The timing couldn’t be better; social media is abuzz with the feel of The Division 2’s combat running at a smooth 60fps in 4K on the new boxes. Ubi Massive have pledged to keep adding new things for the foreseeable. All the chips are in place, and yet the radio silence on this now widely adopted feature is bizarre.
Positive change has already been actioned thanks to the unrelenting positivity of a fervent fanbase, so there’s every possibility that The Division 2 will see cross play get added down the line.
The first two years of content has been stellar. Now lets bring the community together.