KEY POINTS

  • Ubisoft has been taking down leaked gameplay footage of "The Division Heartland"
  • "Heartland" is an upcoming standalone F2P version of "The Division"
  • The game is set to release later this year or early 2022

Leaked footage of an early technical test of “The Division Heartland” has been making rounds on the internet, and Ubisoft has been taking large steps in order to take down every single video it can find.

It has been less than two weeks since “Heartland” was announced, catching the attention of “The Division” fans around the world. Since then, a closed, invite-only tech test has apparently been in progress with a strict non-disclosure agreement between Ubisoft and the test’s participants.

This agreement has since been broken after a 20-minute gameplay video was leaked and posted on Vimeo, EuroGamer reported. The video showed off a very early build of the game, featuring “The Divison’s” signature brand of cover-based looter-shooter RPG combat.

However, this video has since been removed as part of Ubisoft’s attempt to take down every copy of the gameplay video on the internet.

Multiple re-upload attempts in sites such as YouTube, Vimeo and Reddit have already been taken down by Ubisoft. Some videos made it under the radar without getting flagged, but it’s safe to assume that it’s only a matter of time before they get removed as well.

For the uninformed, “The Division Heartland” is a free-to-play game set in the “The Division’s” universe.

In a video to the technical test’s participants, the game’s lead designer Taylor Epperly said that “Heartland” will feature mechanics that are similar to the earlier games such as scavenging, looting and open-world exploration. He noted that there will be some survival elements to the game, which is something that the previous games never really focused on before.

The Division 2 combines elements of a tactical shooter with that of a looter-shooter co-op RPG
The Division 2 combines elements of a tactical shooter with that of a looter-shooter co-op RPG Ubisoft

“Heartland” will be ditching the large cities of the previous “The Division” games in favor of a smaller town called Silver Creek. However, gameplay will remain largely the same with the familiar militia-type player characters and modern military technology.

The game is currently being developed by Red Storm Studios, the team that made the original “Rainbow Six” and “Ghost Recon” games. Red Storm was founded by Doug Littlejohns and American novelist Tom Clancy.

“The Division Heartland” is still early in development and is expected to make its official debut in late 2021 or early 2022.

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