Published by Ubisoft, Tom Clancy’s The Division video game was a surprise hit for the company and a shot in the arm the Clancy brand needed to feel fresh again. With the upcoming sequel in 2019, an expansion of the lore couldn’t be far behind. Recently, Dark Horse Comics announced a partnership with Ubisoft to not only give fans an inside look at the behind the scenes in The Art of The Division 2, but it was also mentioned a comic book series was in the works. During SDCC 2018, creative director and producers from developer Massive Games joined Dark Horse editor Ian Tucker and Division expanded universe novelist Alex Irvine to discuss the upcoming projects.
For those who don’t know Tom Clancy’s The Division is an early apocalyptic tale where a population annihilating virus has been unleashed in North America. You as an agent of the elite force known as The Division are tasked with maintaining order and finding a way to stop the plague. The first game took you through the fall of New York and The Division 2 will pick up seven months after those events in a faction ruled Washington D.C.
While there weren’t any announcement pieces during the panel, Dark Horse did mention why they choose The Division to invest in expanding the lore of the games to their readership. Tucker spoke of the game as if he were a 1000hr in player, praising the ethical decisions players have to make between greater good and short-term survival or the game’s multiplayer hunger game called The Darkzone. An area that lets you either be a team player survivalist or simply put an a&& hole looking to score gear and supplies by killing and taking from those who did the legwork of taking down heavy enemies.
Julian Gerighty and John Bjorling from Massive Games talked in detail about the choice to set the sequel in Washington D.C. The development team spends months not only researching the history of a location but how their virtual infrastructure would semi-play out in the real world. The two told a story about the team on a hunting expedition then processing the meat in order to donate it to a mission that feeds the homeless. Not a completely great story if you’re a PETA supporter but one that highlights just how extensive the group gets in research. Any team can take a few photos of scenic monuments and process them into their game but few test every virtual mechanic against what it would be like in the real world.
Writer, Alex Irvine did speak a little be about the novel, calling it part prose and part survival guide. The next books coming from Dark Horse will fill in many details in the seven-month gap between Division 1 and 2 while also bringing back the popular character April.
While no firm dates on the extended universe material were talked about or full creative team announced. Tucker did note it would all be out in time to support the game’s launch on March, 15, 2019. To get a more clearer picture of their timeline, editors at Dark Horse later confirmed The Division comics would begin about two months before the game’s launch which puts them in January. Hooray!
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 will be available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on March 15, 2019.
