14 DAY TRIAL // An internal source at The Division developer Massive Entertainment has revealed that the title’s recent delay into 2015 was needed in order to ensure that the game plays well and doesn't end up like DICE's Battlefield 4, which was plagued by many issues after launch last year.
Swedish developer Massive Entertainment impressed lots of fans last year when it presented alongside Ubisoft The Division, a massively multiplayer online action adventure role-playing game that takes place in the Tom Clancy universe and looks downright gorgeous, thanks to the Snowdrop engine.
Unfortunately, while the title was set to appear in late 2014, Ubisoft revealed earlier this month that it had been delayed into 2015.
According to a source from inside the studio, who talked with GameReactor, there's a lot of faith in the game, both from Massive and from Ubisoft, but the 2015 release period still seems optimistic, as a lot of work is needed.
"The Division is without a doubt one of the most ambitious game projects of all time and our publisher has naturally realized this. We've been given increased resources, we're hiring lots at the moment and are given a lot of help from other Ubisoft teams which is going to be needed if we are to deliver a finished game by next fall."
"Sadly I still think that the date is a tad bit optimistic as we still don't have a functioning game and still have massive problems making our multiplayer component work at the concept stage. At the same time both we and our publisher are incredibly happy with our game engine and Ubisoft will naturally make use of it in lots of upcoming titles."
The source also confirmed that the PS4 remains the lead platform for the game's development, despite rumors about Microsoft wanting its Xbox One to get the best experience.
"PlayStation 4 is the more powerful hardware and we feel it is easier to develop for. Snowdrop works better on PS4 and even if Microsoft do want us to shift lead platform that's not something that has happened."
What's more, the report also claims that Ubisoft and Massive didn't want to repeat the mistake experienced by fellow Swedish studio DICE, which rolled out alongside EA Battlefield 4 last year and suffered lots of bad press due to bugs and technical glitches.
"At the end of the day we don't want to do a Battlefield 4 and release an unfinished game. There's too much potential in the concept that is The Division at the moment, that we've asked for more time and resources in order to fully realize this fantastic vision."
Battlefield 4 continues to have problems even many months after launch, so it's going to be interesting to see if The Division can avoid such a controversy.