I really want to believe we’ll get another game like the original Division, but honestly I don’t think it’s gonna happen. Here’s my take on why:
Too many cooks in the kitchen now
Back when the first Division came out, they had like 130 developers working on it. By Division 2, that number jumped to over 2000 people across multiple studios. Now they’re down to around 1000 devs between Massive and Ubisoft Annecy.
The problem is you can’t create something special when everything has to go through tons of committees and departments. Small teams just work better for innovation.
Look at some recent hits:
- Black Myth Wukong had around 30 people
- Expedition 33 is being made by about 35 devs
- Even Embark Studios keeps their team sizes reasonable
Smaller teams can take risks and push boundaries without getting bogged down in corporate processes.
That magic first experience is gone
Remember stepping into that snowy New York street back in 2016? The way the silence would suddenly break with distant gunfire or screams? That atmosphere was incredible and felt totally fresh.
Nowadays even the most beautiful games feel predictable. We’ve seen it all before. Plus modern games get buried under daily quests, battle passes, and cash shops that constantly remind you you’re playing a video game instead of living in that world.
We need more of those “holy crap” moments like the first time playing Zelda with no map or tutorial, or doing Vault of Glass in Destiny when console players had never experienced anything like that coordinated gameplay.
Ubisoft plays it safe now
The original Division was a huge gamble. New IP, new engine, trying something that hadn’t been done before. Ubisoft let the team experiment and take risks.
But look at their stock price - it went from around 25-26 euros in 2017 down to about 9 euros today. When companies are struggling financially, they stick to proven formulas instead of innovation.
Their CEO basically said they’re focusing on “more profitable projects” which is corporate speak for “we’re not taking risks anymore.”
Take Assassin’s Creed Shadows - it’s well made but it’s basically the same AC formula in a new setting. Safe and profitable.
The bottom line is we probably won’t see anything like The Division again, at least not from Ubisoft. Maybe ARC Raiders will capture some of that magic, but otherwise I think that era is over.
What do you think? Am I being too pessimistic or do you agree?