Ubisoft has announced that it is canceling its upcoming free-to-play shooter game, The Division Heartland, in order to refocus resources on "bigger opportunities."
The game was first announced in 2021 and was a spin-off of The Division franchise that was developed by Red Storm Studio. In an earnings report, Ubisoft said that the decision was made as part of the company's efforts to "streamline its operations and adapt to evolving market trends."
Ubisoft Cancels The Division Heartland
(Photo : Ubisoft / Screenshot taken from official website)
Since its reveal, The Division Heartland has remained relatively quiet and has not provided any updates regarding the game's status. It later resurfaced with closed beta tests but the lack of regular updates made fans doubt and confused about its existence.
The Division Heartland was billed as a PvEvP survival action experience where players will control a Division agent tasked with protecting a small town from enemy factions and chemical contamination.
Despite the game being canceled, fans know that this does not mean an end to the franchise as a whole. Last September, Ubisoft announced The Division 3 will have series creator Massive Entertainment back at the helm, according to GameInformer.
The Division Heartland joins an ever-growing list of canceled Ubisoft projects over the past few years. The publisher also canceled its upcoming team-based arena battle Project Q and three other games in development in January last year.
Read Also: The Sims 4's Latest Roadmap Video Showcases New Season of Love Update
In 2022, the company also made the decision to cancel the battle royale Ghost Recon Frontline, Splinter Cell VR, and two unannounced titles. There was also an unannounced sequel to Immortals Fenix Rising that was reportedly axed in July last year.
The cancellation of The Division Heartland will most likely have resources diverted to XDefiant and the Rainbow Six franchise. The game was set in the wake of a devastating pandemic that ravaged the fictional flyover town of Silver Creek.
Series of Cancellations
The situation comes as multiple AAA publishers and studios in recent months have canceled their in-development live-service games. These include the long-in-development The Last of Us Online at Naughty Dog and Blizzard Entertainment's untitled fantasy survival game, said Polygon.
The Division Heartland stood out from these titles, considering Ubisoft's commitment to troubled projects such as Skull and Bones and the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake. The company also has two other announced The Division projects currently in development.
These are The Division Resurgence, which is a free-to-play multiplayer third-person shooter mobile game, and The Division 3. The cancellation also comes as Ubisoft is gearing up for next with its highly anticipated Assassin's Creed Shadows game.
The diversion of resources comes as Rainbow Six Siege is a highly popular Ubisoft game and XDefiant is generating some hype among fans. While the latter had a rough reveal in 2021, it's looking like a really good title.
However, whether or not that will translate into a sustainable long-term audience is still a very big question. But what it does have going for it, especially compared to The Division Heartland, is that it is set to have a pre-season launch on May 21, 2024, according to PCGamer.
Related Article: Men of War 2 Launches on Steam, Giving Classic RTS Game Its First Full Sequel
