The Division Was Originally Planned to be an MMORPG

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It’s amazing to think Tom Clancy’s The Division came out ten years ago, but this year marks its anniversary.

Despite a lot of hype at E3, The Division didn’t immediately become a massive hit when it launched in March 2016. However, it gradually gained a dedicated fanbase thanks to its compelling gameplay – constantly finding better loot and completing missions. Interestingly, you can even see early ideas from today’s popular extraction shooter games in The Division.

To celebrate the game’s 10th anniversary, the developers recently revisited the original game and played through its missions. This is part of an ongoing series called ‘Devs Playing,’ which offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how the game was made.

This is a thorough look at the development of The Division, showing how the game evolved from its initial ideas to the final product.

The Division Was Supposed to Be an MMORPG-esque Game

Drew Rechner, Creative Director at Massive Entertainment, describes the central gameplay of The Division while playing the Broadway Emporium mission. He explains that both games in the series were built around a core combat system – a three-step process of observing the situation, planning your approach, and then executing it, known as “OPE.”

The game’s core gameplay revolves around using cover strategically. It’s designed to reward careful planning and methodical attacks, encouraging players to take their time. Interestingly, the game wasn’t always like this. According to Rechner, it initially started as something closer to a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).

It took us a long time to arrive at the final design for The Division. When we first started, the game was envisioned as a traditional MMO, similar to World of Warcraft. It lacked the shooting and skill-based elements we wanted, so we spent a lot of time finding the right balance between those aspects and the MMO components, eventually landing on the gameplay you see today.

Even though The Division mostly features separate, instanced missions instead of a huge, open online world, you can still definitely see its origins as a traditional MMORPG. The core gameplay feels very similar to games like World of Warcraft, with familiar combat, a skill bar, and all the other elements you’d expect from that genre.

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However, it seems the team struggled to integrate that initial idea into their overall game design, ultimately leading them to create the cover-based shooter we know today. Looking back, it’s fascinating to consider what might have been, especially since massively multiplayer online games aren’t as popular now and extraction shooters are currently very trendy.

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2026-04-17 16:39