Ubisoft announced some pretty big changes coming to The Division 2 during a live stream today. Along with revealing the new Warlords of New York expansion, Ubisoft stated that The Division 2 will be getting a seasonal structure, similar to what fans would expect from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or Destiny 2.
Ubisoft didn't dive that far into the specifics of the seasonal content, though it is confirmed that there will be a premium season pass for players that want to get more out of the game's tiers. The seasons will each run for three months, offering players the chance to level up tiers, and earn interesting new rewards. Seasons will also introduce new narrative content to the game, as players spend time advancing the world of The Division 2. Modern Warfare Season 2 also kicks off today, which may be a good model for The Division 2 to run off of.
Ubisoft didn't announce the price of the premium season pass, though if it's competitive with other multiplayer options it will likely fall somewhere around the $10 mark. The Warlords of New York expansion will also cost $30, so players may find themselves investing quite a bit into the game if they want to keep up with all the content. Of course, the premium season pass isn't necessary, and players will still earn some rewards without it.
While the season pass likely won't be popular among fans, it's becoming an increasingly popular structure among triple-a games. Recently, Activision announced Call of Duty made more from battle passes than it did from loot boxes, so it'll likely start popping up in more and more games. While microtransactions, in general, are a bummer, at least fans know what they're getting with a season pass, so it's certainly a better type of content model.
It will be interesting to see what kind of content drops with The Division's inaugural season. The game has had some pretty inventive content in the past, and there are plenty of places that Ubisoft could take things. With any luck, the season pass will provide players with more frequent content drops in the game.
The Division 2 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.