by theygamesIt seems we can’t go long without news of a cancellation of an upcoming title and today is no different. In an earnings call, Ubisoft announced that Tom Clancy’s The Division Heartland has been cancelled, with the company deciding to focus on other games. If you needed more proof that the games industry is in a tumultuous state, you just got it.
This spinoff from The Division series appears to have been quite far along in development. Announced in 2021, Tom Clancy’s The Division Heartland underwent several beta periods, giving players plenty of time to check out the multiplayer game. Since the end of those betas, however, things went dark, with some in the gaming community wondering where The Division Heartland has gone.
Today we got our answer. Following on from Ubisoft’s restructuring efforts and streamlining processes, one of the causalities has been The Division Heartland. The earnings call explains this as Ubisoft having “increased selectivity of its investments” with resources being deployed elsewhere. The two properties listed as beneficiaries of the cancelled game’s resources are Rainbow Six and XDefiant. Those resources appear to refer in part to Red Storm Entertainment, developer on the title, which is also the studio behind the original Rainbow Six games way back in 1998.
As a result of recruitment freezes, restructurings, and other organizational changes Ubisoft notes that it reduced outgoing costs by €150 million ($163 million) during the 2023-2024 financial year, with an operating cost of €1.6 billion ($1.74 billion). The company’s headcount now stands at 19,011, with 1,700 staff leaving over the previous 18 months.
On the other side, the earnings call confirms Ubisoft’s commitment to three upcoming titles. Star Wars Outlaws, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and XDefiant, all being namechecked for release during the 2024-to-2025 financial year. In addition, free to play games Rainbow Six Mobile and The Division Resurgence also received a nod for the coming year.
Overall, however, it’s another grim day in the gaming industry as we watch another title disappear from the upcoming release schedule. If you’d like to read the full earnings call notes from Ubisoft, you can do so on the official site here.
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