The Division has the Strongest Launch in Ubisoft's History

Ubisoft has got a well-earned reputation, not only as a fairly evil company who abuses things like pre-order culture, DLC, season passes, and some downright suspicious practices… but also as a company that leans very, very hard on sequels and brand recognition, outmatched only by Nintendo. Between Far Cry, Just Dance, and of course the never-ending Assassin’s Creed series, Ubisoft has famously said they only intend on making a game if they expect they can turn it into a franchise.

Well, they might say that sequels and spin-offs make for smart business, but the fans disagree: because as it turns out, the launch of their newest game, The Division, which also happens to be a new IP, is proving to be the strongest launch Ubisoft has ever had of a title. As it so happens, The Division has sold more in 24 hours than any other games in the company’s history, even beating out staples such as Far Cry or Assassin’s Creed. Yves Guillemot, co-founder and CEO of Ubisoft, had this to say:
 

“The launch of The Division is a tremendous achievement for Ubisoft, and demonstrates our unrivaled capacity to create fantastic new game brands and transform them into entertainment blockbusters. This is a momentous day for Ubisoft, but more importantly it marks the start of millions of players’ enduring engagement in The Division’s game world, which we are confident they will love.”

Of course, calling it an entirely new IP is a bit untrue: it’s still got the famous Tom Clancy name on it, and while that doesn’t make it part of a franchise, there’s still name recognition attached to the title because of it, and that can’t be ignored. But to say that explains why this game is doing so well compared to other well-trusted and beloved series would be a massive understatement.

Now, the Division launched with its fair share of problems--not only were the servers not functioning for the first few hours after launch, but famously, people had to stand in line to talk to the first quest-giver in the game, as NPCs can only talk to one person at a time. But that hasn’t diminished people’s love of the game, it seems, and people are still swarming it. Good to see! Now let’s hope it doesn’t get to Ubisoft’s head.