UPDATE: Ubisoft has responded to concerns from fans about these comments, saying “It has come to our attention that a comment from one of our team members has been perceived by some members of the community to imply the PC version of The Division was ‘held back’ and this is simply not true. From the beginning, the PC version of The Division was developed from the ground up and we’re confident players will enjoy the game and the features this version has to offer. And the feedback from PC players who participated in the recent closed beta supports this.” The original story follows…
Tom Clancy’s The Division looks like it will be a gorgeous game no matter what platform you play it on. Of course, if you have a capable machine, the PC version is promising a lot better visuals, and a more fluid experience. This was made even more apparent when Ubisoft announced that the PC version was being treated as a separate platform, rather than just porting over a console edition. However, new info from one of The Division’s PC developers hints at the fact that gamers could have had something even better if it weren’t for the consoles.
In an interview with Team Epiphany, as shared by NeoGaf, one of the developers was asked how the consoles, namely PS4 and Xbox One, have restricted them in the past or on this game. He responded, “It is definitely a benefactor but one good thing about the division is we have always considered the PC version as a separate platform, I have worked on projects before where the PC versions are ports from a console so it carries those limitations over but we have always been in the mind that we will have a dedicated PC build, so it hasn’t really held it back too much.
“We do have to keep it in check with the consoles; it would be kind of unfair to push it so far away from them. But it’s been good having a dedicated PC build for this game. I’m really happy that we’re pushing the PC build as much as we are.”
So a bit of good news, bringing up once again that the PC version of The Division was a separate entity, allowing for better performance and customization. But also some bad news with the statement that the developer had to keep it “in check with the consoles.” This seems to indicate that there were graphical settings, or gameplay features that could have been added, but then the consoles couldn’t do it, so they were held back or scrapped. Most PC gamers were already aware of this happening, though most developers would not come out and admit it.
Luckily the recent beta seemed to show a very technically competent game, with many rigs unable to run it at max settings. So while it might hurt to know that it could have been something bigger and better, it might have caused PC’s around the world to melt and catch fire.
Tom Clancy’s The Division hits PS4, Xbox One, and PC on March 8th.
Published: Feb 8, 2016 09:53 am