The Division 2 has hit heights not seen in over five years — proof that proper DLC still matters to gamers

I rarely pay too much attention to earnings reports, especially from the big game publishers, but something nestled in Ubisoft's latest stood out to me.

Why? Because for once it was talking about The Division, and not because the mobile game will be forever delayed or Heartland was getting cancelled.

No, it's good news for all players of The Division 2, of which I am one. Specifically, the latest DLC has been a massive success, in conjunction with the game dropping into Xbox Game Pass.

Here's the passage in full:

Of late, Ubisoft has had a habit of saying dumb things and making decisions that gamers really aren't proud of. Those of us who cherished The Crew will never forgive the company for killing all trace of the game.

On one hand, it's not totally unexpected to see a surge in players back in The Division 2. As much as the seasonal gameplay has continued, even been reconfigured in recent times, I'm the first to admit it was getting hard to keep playing.

The new DLC, Battle for Brooklyn, as with Warlords of New York in 2020, brought a new map, new missions, new achievements and collectibles, new secrets to find. Surprisingly, for a 'mini DLC' it actually added more missions to the game than Warlords of New York did.

The DLC definitely brought existing players back, but the other edge of the sword is undoubtedly Xbox Game Pass. This is where I'd wager a good chunk of new players have come in, both on console and on PC.

I've seen it myself in-game too on Xbox. In the shared spaces, I'm absolutely positive I've seen a lot more sub-level 40 players than before Game Pass. But Massive, the team behind The Division 2, was also well-prepared.

When I spoke with them prior to the launch of Battle for Brooklyn, they talked about the work put in to the onboarding process for new players. It's a necessary step when you're talking about a game that's now in Year 7 and has a heap of content to play through.

While I'd always recommend starting at the very beginning and putting in the time to go through everything in order, you don't have to. This will always be the most rewarding way to experience the game and its story. But new players can skip right to level 40 and get into the newest content if they wish.

More than anything, I hope that there have been lessons learned from The Division 2 that will help shape The Division 3. The franchise is healthy, even if Ubisoft doesn't categorize it as one of its "flagship brands."

Players will respond to meaningful content. Whether it's free or paid DLC, if you make it, they will come.