Massive: The Division’s player versus player is its hook

‘You need to have something to lose’

It’s no secret that Ubisoft is aiming to blur the line between single- and multiplayer experiences. That’s the predominant theme with a lot of its upcoming titles. Surprisingly, the Tom Clancy’s The Division developers don’t consider this to necessarily be the hook for their game. Rather, they think it’s the player versus player component.

The Division‘s game director Ryan Bernard spoke with Official Xbox Magazine and said that Massive’s approach to PvP will be a difference-maker. He explained that the gamble of losing your hard-earned gear is what makes these scenarios so riveting. “We want player versus player to be meaningful, and the way (it) gets meaningful is you need to have something to lose – it’s not just a scorecard in a multiplayer map,” Bernard stated.

Bernard believes that the focus on PvP will significantly better The Division. Ideally, it will cause a heightened sense of tension as players explore the city, as they’ll never know where potential threats may come from. “This is a world that’s coming apart, it’s a scary place,” Bernard said. “We really want to play with that, to enhance the experience.”

The Division’s multiplayer is “meaningful” because “you have something to lose” [Official Xbox Magazine]