Tom Clancy's The Division

Lore & Background

The game's plot begins on Black Friday 2015, when a viral epidemic transmitted by smallpox-based virus on banknotes sweeps New York City. The disease, called 'Green Poison' or 'Dollar Flu,' causes chaos and quarantine. The U.S. government activates sleeper agents of the Strategic Homeland Division to assist the Joint Task Force in restoring order. The first wave of agents goes AWOL, forcing a second wave deployment. The player, a second-wave agent, reclaims the James A. Farley Building as a base and combats criminal groups: Rioters, Rikers escapees, and Cleaners using incendiary weapons. The agent recovers a Green Poison sample and learns it was manufactured by biologist Dr. Gordon Amherst. Rogue Division agent Aaron Keener defects with the first wave to assist the Last Man Battalion, a hostile private military company. The agent attempts to rescue virologist Vitaly Tchernenko, but Keener kidnaps him. After assaulting the LMB's base at the United Nations Headquarters, the LMB leader Charles Bliss is killed. Later, the agent finds Amherst's remains and a message revealing he created Green Poison as an eco-terrorist plan. Keener leaves a message intending to develop a new strain and offers the agent a position as a Rogue Agent.

Reader's Guide

Tom Clancy's The Division is significant as a major online-only action role-playing game that introduced Ubisoft's Snowdrop engine, showcasing destructible environments and a dynamic weather system. Its open-world setting in a pandemic-stricken Manhattan combined cooperative and player-versus-player multiplayer in the Dark Zone, where contaminated loot could be stolen. The game's progression system, with gear tiers from worn to exotic, and its three-wing Base of Operations (Medical, Security, Tech) provided structured role-playing elements. The Division received generally positive reviews and established a franchise, leading to a sequel in March 2019. Its legacy includes influencing online multiplayer RPG design and demonstrating the viability of persistent online worlds in a third-person shooter format. The game's plot, involving a viral outbreak and rogue agents, resonated with contemporary concerns about pandemics and societal collapse. The Dark Zone's risk-reward mechanics became a hallmark, balancing cooperation and betrayal among players.

Did You Know?

• The game marked the debut of Massive and Ubisoft's Snowdrop game engine.
• The Dark Zone is a player-versus-player area where contaminated loot can be stolen by other players.
• The player character can carry three weapons and use explosives like sticky bombs and seeker mines.
• The game features a dynamic, time-based weather system that can hinder visibility and make aiming difficult.