The Division Resurgence embraces MMORPG fun to “push” Ubisoft’s shooter onto new ground

The Division Resurgence is a bigger moment than you think for Ubisoft’s looter shooter series. It isn’t just the debut of The Division on iPhone and Android phones, but Resurgence also gives players a fully shared open world. Within all the action that the series is known for, the brand-new entry tugs on the strings of the MMORPG space like never before. In my chat with executive producer Fabrice Navrez, we dig into what makes Resurgence tick.

Alongside Navrez’s insight into crafting New York City for mobile, I ask what kind of lessons Ubisoft has learned from previous Division games. “It’s really more an extension of when you’re designing a game: ‘okay, what do you want to keep in the formula, and what do you want to change?'” Navrez explains. As players can interact on the fly, squad up, and go out on missions together, it brings a sense of urgency. In my time with The Division Resurgence, I firmly believe that the series needs to keep this up as we head into The Division 3.

Nazrez adds that “we want to bring a faithful Division experience on mobile […] we kind of say ‘what type of feature we want to push further?’ So the social aspect was definitely something.” He mentions how free mobile games often make the most of social interactions, whether it’s through chats, clans, or shared spaces. Taking that into account, Navrez tells me that it plays a huge part in inspiring Resurgence’s world.

“Players that will join The Division Resurgence are not necessarily familiar with the Division universe […] it’s more like the iteration we can make on the [series’] known formula, and from there, assess what is acceptable in that world because at the end of the day, we still want to be a true Division game.” Between a wealth of quests, daily and weekly tasks, and other objectives to complete, there’s a tangible feeling that Resurgence’s world is always hustling and bustling. There’s always something or someone right around the corner.

But time is everything with any of the best MMORPGs. To get around that looming danger of FOMO, Navrez shares that “I think the goal was really to [say] ‘how can we give [you] in 30 minutes?” Because Resurgence sees you go into action as a first wave agent, there’s space to play with new, evolving stories. Any RPG worth its salt knows how to weave an intriguing narrative, but Resurgence needs to please both newcomers and seasoned players looking for lore.

He iterates that the team has “freedom to develop side stories and main stories in Resurgence, and still be consistent” with the other games. “We worked with writers who have worked on the previous Division [games] as well, so they were very familiar with the tone and what makes The Division special […] it’s a faithful and thorough Division experience.”

You can check out my The Division Resurgence review if you haven’t deployed into New York City yet.