Ubisoft Axes The Division Heartland Game
Ubisoft has made the decision to cancel The Division Heartland, a free-to-play spin-off from The Division series that was originally announced in 2021. The game was being developed by Red Storm Studio.
According to Ubisoft’s recent earnings report, the cancelation is part of a broader effort to streamline operations and adapt to changing market trends. The company stated:
“As part of Ubisoft’s efforts to streamline its operations and adapt to evolving market trends, there have been further reorganizations within the Global Publishing teams, both at the APAC region, that is not organized into three engagement hubs, and at the central level. Additionally, in line with the increased selectivity of its investments, Ubisoft has decided to stop development on The Division Heartland and has redeployed resources to bigger opportunities such as XDefiant and Rainbow Six.”
The Division Heartland had faced delays and had gone quiet after its initial reveal. Although there were closed beta tests, lack of updates raised concerns among fans. The game was designed to offer a player-versus-environment-versus-player survival action experience, where players would take on the role of a Division agent protecting a small town from enemy factions and chemical contamination.
Despite the cancellation of The Division Heartland, Ubisoft has reassured fans that it’s not the end of the franchise. The company announced The Division 3 in September of last year, with Massive Entertainment leading the development. However, a release date for The Division 3 has not been announced yet.
The cancelation of The Division Heartland adds to the list of scrapped Ubisoft projects in recent years. In January 2023, Ubisoft also canceled Project Q, an upcoming team-based arena battler, along with three other games. In 2022, Ghost Recon Frontline, Splinter Cell VR, and two undisclosed games were also axed. Additionally, an unannounced sequel to Immortals Fenix Rising was reportedly canceled in July of last year.