The Division is set to launch in 2019 and despite Ubisoft’s track record, fans are actually excited for the sequel due to the fact that Ubisoft has listened to the feedback from The Division and implemented in The Division 2. However, many of the fans are worried that there will be The Division 2 graphics downgrade at launch but, we think otherwise.
The Division 2 was first revealed at Microsoft’s E3 2018 press conference and like many, I was really impressed with the game’s presentation, visuals and gameplay.
This time around, Ubisoft is taking the game to Washington D.C where the virus is no longer the threat but, the City has fallen into a civil war among different groups fighting for survival. Just like The Division, it now up to Division agents to bring order back to the city and end the civil war.
This open up a lot of new opportunities for the developer as they will be featuring a new setting in the game and given that how detailed the first game is we have no doubt that Ubisoft will do justice to Washington D.C.
The Division 2 Graphics
Ubisoft is known for downgrading its games and such was the case with The Division which was revealed way early and when the game launched, visual fidelity was nowhere near the visuals that were revealed in 2013.
Same was the case with the Watch Dogs and gamers are rightfully worried that The Division 2 will also be a graphical downgrade at launch.
However, there is a chance that there won’t be any The Division 2 graphics downgrade at launch and here is why we believe that what Ubisoft showcased at E3 2018 is the representative of the final product that we will get to play in March 2019.
Let us fist see the gameplay demo for The Division 2 which was used to reveal the game at Microsoft’s E3 2018 press conference.
As you can see in the video below, the game looks phenomenal, the lightning, effects and gameplay and even the reflections in the water are extremely accurate and overall the game looks polished which seems to indicate that Ubisoft Massive has actually learned from it’s mistakes with The Division.
Now below is the gameplay that Ubisoft showcased at E3 2018 following its presentation. However, compared to the reveal gameplay, this gameplay demo seems a bit downgraded, which was also my first thought.
But, if you analyze both gameplay demos, most of you will realize that there is no The Division 2 graphics downgrade.
Here we will go step-by-step to explain why both gameplay demos are running at the same graphical fidelity and why it won’t be downgraded at launch.
The reason why The Division was a huge downgrade, and even Watch Dogs, was because the gameplay demos used to reveal the games were alpha version or modified versions of the gameplay to create hype among gamers.
The Division is a clear case of a graphical downgrade which has got many fans worried that the upcoming The Division 2 will also be graphically downgraded.
The first reason why there won’t be a The Division graphics downgrade is that The first Division was revealed too early, years before its official launch.
The gameplay showcased for the reveal was probably the alpha version and throughout the development, the visuals were downgraded so that the game could run on current-gen consoles.
The Division 2 on the other hand was showcased at E3 2018, less than a year before its officially launches in March 2019. Not only that, gamers actually played the game for themselves at the visual quality at which the game was revealed and showcased.
Since the game is less than a year away from launch and gamers and even YouTube personalities got to play The Division 2 demo at the same visual quality at which the game was showcased, confirms that there won’t be any The Division 2 graphics downgrade at launch.
Another reason to believe that The Division 2 won’t see any graphical downgrade is that Ubisoft has actually learned from its mistakes and for its past few games it hasn’t revealed games with modified visuals.
For example, Watch Dogs 2, Assassin’s Creed Origins and Far Cry 5 all of these games were revealed a few months before their official launch and Ubisoft didn’t use any alpha version or modified gameplay to reveal its games.
The reveal trailers and gameplay demos for these games were actually the representative of the final product that we actually got to play.
As for the apparent visual disparity between Microsoft’s E3 2018 presentation demo and Ubisoft’s E3 2018 presentation demo. Well that isn’t exactly a downgrade and here is why.
First of all, both demos are set in different locations and even time of day. The Gameplay demo for Microsoft’s E3 2018 conference has the Sun just above the horizon which causes the sun light to directly come at the player which makes things look even more beautiful.
As for the other gameplay demo, it is set at a different location and a different time of day which might have caused the confusion of The Division 2 graphics downgrade.
Another reason why Microsoft’s E3 2018 gameplay demo looks better is that, it was being rendered on Xbox One X at 4K resolution which obviously, makes the game look even more detailed and fleshed out and hence there isn’t a downgrade and we are sure there won’t be a graphical downgrade for The Division 2 at launch.
So here is why we believe that The Division 2 will not see any graphical downgrade at launch.
What do you think? Will there be a This Division 2 graphics downgrade at launch in March 2019? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
