The Division 2’s New Update Reveals A Controversial Real-Life Situation
The Division 2 is rolling out a brand new update, however, this new update might be seen as insensitive due to its comparisons to real-life events.
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Ubisoft’s The Division 2 has sort of fallen out of good graces with gamers. The game has long been forgotten since it launched in 2019, at least that is what everyone thought. However, a brand-new update is on its way, but the subject matter hits a little too close to home. Ubisoft announced that a new mode called “Countdown” would be added to the loot shooter, but the new mode contains a military team taking over a nuclear power plant. In one of those most awkward instances of a developer not reading the room, Ubisoft couldn’t have picked a worse time to tackle this subject matter. You can see the announcement about the new update below:
The Russian invasion of Ukraine began at the end of February, and there are plenty of instances in which the Russian military has taken over and occupied several nuclear power facilities throughout Ukraine, including Chernobyl. While sometimes art imitates life, this one is a little too on the nose for current events. The world is watching the conflict in Ukraine closely, and now The Division 2 might see itself catch a lot of heat from releasing this new mode. While it is clearly a horrible coincidence, Ubisoft could be seen as insensitive for releasing this new mode. Especially considering the game concerns itself with pure military-based combat and gunplay. While it has also been announced that this new mode was being worked on back in 2021, it still could be taken the wrong way. Benefiting of any kind from this tense moment in history would be an awful look for a game that has been delaying updates.
People who continually play The Division 2 are likely happy with finally getting some sort of updates, but this one might have to be reworked or pulled down if enough bad press reaches Ubisoft. However, the gaming company could combat that by donating to the relief funds for Ukraine. Epic Games and Fortnite players made huge gains during their donation time with in-game purchases. Ubisoft might think about doing the same. Countdown is the new mode in which eight players will play together to seize a nuclear power plant by completing objectives and killing enemies. Ubisoft spoke to Kotaku about this coincidence for this mode and the real-life implications. According to Ubisoft, “Similar to the base game, the mode is a work of fiction and is unintentional to today’s current events.” There are these types of warnings in films and video games, but never has one been so correct in its delivery.
Ubisoft assures that their mode for The Division 2 was beginning to take shape in 2021, which was far before the Russian invasion occurred. However, their impeccable timing with releasing this mode is going to cause some headaches should the comparison reach news outlets. Everyone has been steadily waiting for new updates for the game, but Ubisoft might also think about delaying this one for a bit longer. They have not announced when the update would be launching on both PC and consoles. The announcement designates a start of April 1st, though it does not specify if this is a platform-wide update. Only certain players are able to currently play the new mode.
