The Division Dev Talks About 9/11's Impact on the Game Universe

Ubisoft's third-person shooter The Division takes place in Manhattan, the site of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. But there aren't really any parallels between The Division's post-pandemic narrative and the events of that day, according to associate creative director Julian Gerighty.

This came up in an interview that Kill Screen conducted with Gerighty.

Question: "I know you spoke to survival experts about the realism of the game's scenario. Did you talk to first responders or other people who were there during 9/11?"

Gerighty: "I didn't. I don't think even the parallel between this game scenario and 9/11 exists."

The Kill Screen interviewer said she was surprised by this and thought she couldn't have been the first person to draw a comparison to 9/11. Asked if Ubisoft took September 11 into consideration when making The Division, Gerighty said the subject hasn't come up in any internal discussions he's attended.

"It's the first time I've ever been asked about it, and it hasn't really crossed any of the meetings that I've done on it before," he said.

Gerighty went on to say that The Division doesn't intend to carry any politically driven themes. In The Division, the virus spreads through money, which could be seen as an anti-capitalist statement. But Gerighty doesn't exactly see it that way.

"At the end of the day, it's a video game, it's an entertainment product," he said. "There's no particularly political message with it."

For more, be sure to read Kill Screen's full story.

The Division is scheduled to launch on March 8 across Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. According to a recent report, an open beta will be held later this month, though this is not confirmed.

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