The Division is getting a free-to-play spinoff, Tom Clancy's The Division Heartland, and players can already sign up to participate in an early playtest. Ubisoft's loot-based shooter series is about to get a whole lot bigger; along with upcoming new content for The Division 2, the series will soon see The Division Heartland, a mobile game, and a Netflix movie added to its catalog.
Not many details are currently known about The Division Heartland, but it seems safe to assume it will build upon the foundations of the previous two core games and take the series to a new setting - presumably the American Midwest, given the "Heartland" subtitle. Developed by Red Storm, the game will come to consoles, PC, and "the cloud" sometime in 2021 or 2022, according to a Ubisoft press release.
Though information is still scarce at the moment, interested players can sign up now for a chance to play the game early. Here's how to get a chance at The Division Heartland's early playtest.
The Division Heartland: How To Sign Up For Early Playtest
Signing up requires simply heading to Ubisoft's Division experience webpage, choosing a gaming platform, and signing in with a Ubisoft account. After signing up for the playtest, the website tells users to be on the lookout for further communications. If it's possible The Division Heartland could release before the end of 2021, as Ubisoft indicated, the early playtest for the game may come around fairly quickly. Fans will likely get a glimpse during the all-digital E3 event this June, regardless, which should reveal what to expect from the full game, as well as more details on when players can get their hands on it.
In the announcement for The Division Heartland, Ubisoft said developer Red Storm is "a perfect fit" to head up the standalone, free-to-play game, as the studio has worked on Tom Clancy games since 1997 and has previously assisted on both The Division and The Division 2. Ubisoft also said Heartland won't require players to have any experience with previous entries in the series, as it will provide "an all new perspective on the universe in a new setting."
It's clear Ubisoft is banking hard on The Division as a franchise, and with good reason. The original The Division game became the best-selling new game franchise in its 2016 launch week, selling more copies in its first day than any other Ubisoft game at the time. In 2021, Ubisoft said, the series has reached more than 40 million players to date. With the free-to-play Heartland on the way, that number will likely grow even larger.
The Division Heartland is slated to release in 2021 or 2022 for consoles, PC, and "the cloud."