Watch as a squad of agents work their way through the ruins of New York to combat deadly opposing factions and bring order to a city lost to a pandemic. With state-of-the-art gadgets like the data-collecting ECHO tool and high-powered firearms, the agents have a vast array of tools and technology to defend New York and bring society back from the brink.

Massive Entertainment, developer of Ubisoft's promising next-gen shooter The Division, has hailed the publisher's decision to delay Watch Dogs last year as "tremendously important". The Division has faced rumours it will be given a similar delay after a January report claimed that Ubisoft's initial 2014 release was now "laughable" due to the amount of work still needed on the game.

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Go behind the scenes at Massive Entertainment - A Ubisoft Studio, and discover the power of the Snowdrop engine. This impressive new game engine is powering the next-gen MMO shooter, The Division, coming to Xbox One, PS4 and PC later this year.

A Ubisoft release schedule released this morning states that The Division and The Crew are still due in 2014. The Crew was subject to a recent delay, whereas The Division was announced to slacked-jaws and gasps at last year's E3 and then vanished off the face of the planet.

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The Division, which stood out as one of the most exciting games for Xbox One and PS4 during last year's E3, may now miss its planned 2014 release date, a source from developer Ubisoft Massive has told Gamereactor. It seems whoever schedules Ubisoft's release dates and the team at Massive aren't on the same page.

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The much anticipated new MMO from Ubisoft, The Division, was recently petitioned to have a version of the game made for PC players, and it looks like they won’t be disappointed – at all. In a recent Community Q&A with developer Massive, a user asked how the game “is going to look on PC?”

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The Division developer Ubisoft Massive has confirmed that while your solider won’t suffer from hunger or thirst, scavenging for clean water and food within its post-apocalyptic cityscape is an important aspect of trading. The team has also shed new light on the shooter’s classless progression system.

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Ubisoft has released brand new in-engine footage of post-apocalyptic online shooter The Division. Revealed during tonight's VGX Awards, the footage offers a closer look at the game's next-gen Snowdrop engine.

Ubisoft Massive's Ryan Bernard has suggested that Tom Clancy's The Division will keep fans busy long after the storyline has rolled to a stop. "The endgame is very important to us," Bernard said. "Player retention is very important. We want the Division to be potentially limitless, unlimited gameplay, but the specifics of how we're doing that, we're saving [for another time] - we have a long time to talk about that stuff. But yes, it is important for us."

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Hot on the heels of the big PC announcement and video showcasing the power and potential of the companion gaming app, The Division hosted an exclusive fan Q&A at the booth at Gamescom 2013. The event gave a select group of fans the opportunity to meet the amazing team at Massive Entertainment, see what the developers had in store before anyone else and, as an added VIP bonus, they had the chance to directly ask questions.

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Ubisoft has confirmed that The Division is coming to PC as a response to fan request. In the video below, executive producer Fredrik Rundqvist thanks fans for their support, and promises that Ubisoft Massive will use its experience with PC development to deliver a quality experience.

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Time for another in our (inexhaustible?) series of insights from Tom Clancy's The Division game director Ryan Bernard, who promises that the Xbox One and 2014-bound always-online shooter won't pad out playtime like certain older, less respectable MMOs on PC.

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Tom Clancy's The Division is going to be more or less the same game whether you buy it for Xbox One or PS4, game director Ryan Bernard has told OXM. The new Snowdrop engine also has nothing in common with the much-sung Anvil engine that powers Assassin's Creed - it's a bespoke entity for next generation hardware, optimised for maximum razzle-dazzle.

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Eye-catching PlayStation 4 and Xbox One open-world game The Division will launch towards the end of 2014, Ubisoft has said. The game's release window was narrowed by Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot during an investor call last night.

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Ubisoft has released a large Q&A for its next-gen shooter, Tom Clancy’s The Division. The Q&A reveals details of the new Snowdrop engine, Ubisoft's consultation of ex-CIA agents, the game’s RPG features and more...

Q: On what platforms will the game be released?

A: We are optimizing the experience for next gen consoles (PS4 and Xbox One) only, as we are creating a next-gen game.

Q: When is the game coming out?

A: Tom Clancy's The Division is planned for release in 2014.

Q: What is Tom Clancy's The Divison about?

A: This new Tom Clancy franchise is about the fragility of our society, and how complex and vulnerable it really is. We lead very comfortable lives, but we are only a few small steps from complete collapse. Our society is so complex, in fact, that even a small incident can set off a huge chain reaction that could make all the dominos fall.

For example, have you ever considered what would happen if people stopped going to work, if trucks stopped delivering food and water to the city, if hospitals were no longer able to provide medical care?

In our game, a deadly virus is spreading massively, bringing entire nations to their knees. A secret organization created for such emergencies and made of civilian agents, called the Division, is tasked to respond to the crisis.

You play as an agent from The Division, dispatched to New York City which is on the brink of collapse. Civil unrest is rampant and basic services have failed. People are rioting, pillaging, and clans are forming. Your mission is to restore society and track down those responsible for the pandemic.

Q: What inspired the team to make The Division?

A: Clear and present danger: one of the main values underpinning all the best Tom Clancy novels. In our case, it is the fragility of society.

Clancy games are traditionally about preventing a disaster. But what if the disaster actually took place? That was a very exciting scenario for us and we had noticed that no games dealt with this kind of mid-crisis situations. There are plenty of post-apocalyptic games, but not many about a crisis itself, those crucial hours and days where we live in a state of emergency.

When we started to work on this new IP, our objective was also to bring a new genre to the Tom Clancy franchise: a role playing game. In the Clancy universe, this is a perfect match, as upgrading your tech and gear and choosing your play-style are pivotal.

Finally, the opportunities offered by the next-gen consoles were key to achieve our vision and offer a brand new experience to our gamers.

Q: What genre of game is it?

A: Tom Clancy's The Division is an online, open-world, RPG game.

This game is really tailored for you to play together with friends. You will meet other people online, and thus have the opportunity of finding other players that match your play style and patterns. You will co-operate to fight together against the emerging dangers of this ongoing crisis scenario.

Then, gamers will be able to immerse in a realistic, dynamic, persistent and open-world New-York, with a strong focus on exploration.

Finally, the gameplay emphasizes cover-based action, RPG systems such as looting and crafting, skills and social features, plus a strong focus on weapon types and customization.

Q: Did the studio consult with any type of experts such as medical, military or technology specialists on Tom Clancy's The Division?

A: Ubisoft has a long history of working with experts and consultants. For The Division, we have consulted with ex CIA agents, the military, survivalists, doctors, as well as experts in this kind of scenario. We are also lucky to have in our teams at Massive, people who have experience on these matters, which is valuable for this game. Some team members have even participated in survival trainings to develop first-hand experience of living without the things we all take for granted like food or water.

Q: Why call the game The Division?

A: The Division refers to the secret organization you belong to as an agent in the game. It can be compared to how we call the CIA "The Agency" or the FBI "The Bureau". But there is also a second meaning to that name. When society collapse, people fight for food and water, and that is when the other becomes the enemy. People have to make tough moral choices, and as a Division agent you are confronted with such situations. Danger can come from anywhere, anyone and even from your friends...

Q: Who spread the virus and what is it?

A: Dealing with what the virus is and how it is impacting New York is an integral part of the player experience and story in the game. This virus is a chimera version of the flu, meaning that it has been manipulated by man for a specific effect and purpose. It weakens the immune system to make people more vulnerable to infections. The question of who released it will be explored and revealed through the game itself.

Q: Who are The Division's agents? How are they selected?

A: In 2001, the US government held a high-level exercise to simulate a biological attack on the nation, called Operation Dark Winter. The scenario quickly spiralled out of control and it became clear in just a few days that the nation wasn't prepared for this kind of catastrophic emergency. Sometime later, in 2007, the then President George W. Bush signed Directive 51. It gives the President supreme power in the case of a catastrophic emergency, thus bypassing the congressional and judicial system. This is all real and where our game begins.

The Division's agents are carefully selected and live amongst us, holding down their ordinary jobs in law enforcement, the military, rescue services, the intelligence community, scientists, engineers and so on. They are all highly trained, and are ready to do whatever it takes to ensure that our society lives on. Once activated by the President, following the implementation of Directive 51, their task is to investigate the on-going event, engage emerging threats and restore society.

Q: How is it going to be next-gen? What will be different?

A: Our goal at Massive is to focus on making the best game possible for the players, to increase immersion in our universe and to make them feel like they are part of a real-life situation.

In our case, in order to build a universe about the fragility of society, we needed to create a brand new engine called Snowdrop™, designed from the ground up to harness the power of the next generation of consoles and that allows us to create a universe offering a wide variety of features, such as a reactive living-world system with complex AI, procedural destruction and dynamic global illumination. We were also able to integrate more objects than ever before in the environment in order to create a devastated and chaotic New York.

Next-gen consoles also focus on online and social features. Within our engine, we have developed a new platform with a state-of-the-art matchmaking technology. That enables you to play with people that match your play-style, preferences and behavior.

One thing we are really proud of is our truly unique experience: a companion gaming app with real-time gameplay on smart phones and tablets, that lets one of your friends play with you from anywhere, anytime.

Q: How does the New York of The Division compare to real-world NYC? How important is realism in the game?

A: The whole foundation for the IP is based on realism. That's what makes our story so scary and engaging. We spent months researching the subject and the more we learned the more frightened we became. When it comes to New York, we want the player to feel like he is actually exploring the city with all its landmarks, street names and atmosphere. Of course, we also took some creative liberties with the map of New York, as in the end it's about making a great game.

Q: To what extent is your game open-world?

A: Our open-world will be both dynamic and persistent. The dynamic elements are there, so that we can create a world which feels alive and ever-changing. Replaying an area or piece of content will vary from session-to-session and therefore feel fresh to the player. We want our players to be able to replay content which they have discovered, possibly for a specific item or certain achievements or just because they really enjoy it. Persistency of the environment is also very important, as we will add content and features to the game long after launch.

Q: Will it be possible to enter buildings?

A: Yes, and it will play a major role in the game. As you have seen in the demo for example, agents of The Division enter a police station, where they find gear. In this open-world game, we want to give the player as much opportunity as possible to explore and live their own adventure. In this brand, we are creating a whole new universe in an original setting that will be great fun to discover.

Q: What makes this game an RPG?

A: Tom Clancy's The Division is an Online, Open World, RPG game, in a setting which Clancy fans have never seen before. Gamers will be able to experience a deep skill and talent system with immense variety, as well as full character customization and progression. Players will benefit from a large and active in-game player economy, where they loot and craft items that are available to the community. They will also have a very large choice of weapons that will synergize with the players' skills and talents, to create a play-style and role within a group. Finally, the game is about exploring every part of the ravaged New York area and discovering its hidden stories.

We've noticed a lot of different technological features in the demo, like the pulse effect or the smart watch. What kind of technology is this? How does it work?

Technology has always been a major aspect of the Tom Clancy franchise. In our game, The Division agents use a smart watch to communicate with others and to collect data about their environment.

When triggered, the pulse scans the environment surrounding the agents and gives them relevant information, such as civilian infection status, locations or useful items. The pulse itself is one of the many functions of the smart watch, which is tied to player progression in the game. It can be upgraded, and the players can expand its capabilities as they advance through the game.

Q: How many game hours does the game offer?

A: Tom Clancy's The Division provides potentially limitless hours of gameplay focusing on exploration, looting and crafting, player progression, customization and social feature. This game is whole new universe for players to immerse themselves in, and meet new people.

Q: How is pvp going to be integrated in the game?

A: Player vs. Player combat will play a very big role in our game. The choices you make as a Division agent can either spur a recovery or plunge the city further into chaos. The people you meet in certain areas of the game can either be your best friends or your worst enemies.

Q: How is companion gaming going to work?

A: We believe we are setting the bar for what companion gaming means for the next generation of consoles. Having applications which allow you to view and modify your character offline is not enough. Companion gaming will be a meaningful experience in this game, where players can feel that they influence the world from their tablets or smart phones and are able to truly interact with other players. Companion gamers will be able to join groups, act in combat situations and experience their own progression and storyline through the game. In addition, all of this will be free to play, because we want as many players as possible to be able to experience the game.

Q: Will it be p2p or will there be dedicated servers?

A: Yes, we will have dedicated servers. The Division is an online, open world, RPG game and this is the reason why we want to offer our players the best of multiplayer gameplay, social features and services. Unlike current generation RPG games, our players will not be limited to a server or realm. This means that any gamer can play with any other player regardless of where they are in the world.

Q: How long has the project been in development?

A: We have been working on the IP and on the tech for several years and on the actual game since the summer of 2012.

Ubisoft has explained a bit more about the details of The Division's online multiplayer. The open-world RPG shooter, coming to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 next year, won't put a cap on the number of players who can join a clan, and aims to have "a very extensive web-based clan support system," according to Ubisoft.

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Today at E3, Ubisoft has announced the development of Tom Clancy’s The Division, an online open-world RPG, for the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4, coming in 2014.

The Division takes place in New York three weeks after a lethal virus, released on Black Friday, swept through the city. One by one, basic services have failed and society has collapsed into chaos. The President invokes Presidential Directive 51, and The Division, a top-secret unit of self-supporting tactical agents, is activated. Leading seemingly ordinary lives among us, Division agents are trained to operate independently of command in this type of emergency situation. When the lights go out, their mission begins.

In a Tom Clancy universe dedicated to realism, players explore the once-familiar streets and landmarks of the Big Apple, now decimated by looting and overrun by clans that will do anything to survive. From Central Park to the subway to the Statue of Liberty, nowhere is safe. Discover a persistent, online, open-world New York where exploration, combat, and RPG player-progression are essential.

“Our goal with Tom Clancy’s The Division is nothing short of completely changing the way people play online RPGs,” said Fredrik Rundqvist, executive producer, Ubisoft. “With the power of next-gen consoles behind it, The Division puts players in the middle of breathtaking, persistent multiplayer thriller in which they will explore, fight and work together as modern society collapses around you, all with the authenticity for which Tom Clancy games are renowned.”

Tom Clancy’s The Division is developed by Massive Entertainment, the Sweden-based Ubisoft studio renowned for the World in Conflict series.