Tom Clancy's The Division Heartland received its ESRB rating ahead of the announcement of its release date, giving players insight into the level of violence to expect from the game. While this rating shed more light on the content of the upcoming spin-off in The Division series, the game’s release date remains unknown.
Ubisoft announced Tom Clancy's The Division Heartland in 2021, three years after the successful launch of The Division 2. This new free-to-play game is a spin-off set in The Division universe and is being developed by Red Storm Entertainment, a studio that Tom Clancy himself originally founded.
Tom Clancy's The Division Heartland has been rated M due to the presence of blood, intense violence, and strong language. The rating summary revealed that Tom Clancy's The Division Heartland features several scenes of violence, both in the cinematics and during gameplay sequences. The ESRB cites the execution of characters at close range, a scene of Russian roulette, and the torture of captives, among other violent cinematics. The battles also seem intense, with “cries of pain, blood-splatter effects, and explosions.”
On top of these scenes of violence and realistic battles, Tom Clancy's The Division Heartland will support in-game purchases. According to the ESRB, these purchases will not feature randomized elements like loot boxes, treasure chests, or prize wheels. However, previous entries in The Division series include Premium Credits that are purchased with real money and used to obtain cosmetic items and emotes from the in-game store.
Despite getting an ESRB rating, Tom Clancy's The Division Heartland has not yet revealed its release date. The game was initially set to release in 2021 or 2022, but the year is coming to an end with Tom Clancy's The Division Heartland nowhere in sight. This ESRB rating could mean the release date will be announced soon, with perhaps a release window sometime in 2023. Ubisoft could reveal more information about its upcoming free-to-play FPS during The Game Awards, which airs on December 2, 2022.
Ubisoft has already shared some details about the game. Tom Clancy's The Division Heartland is set in Silver Creek, a rural town in the American Northwest. The game will feature three game modes: Expedition, a PvE experience; Storm Operations, a PvPvE mode where players must fight and survive a virus; and Excursion Operations, where the agents complete missions and collect gear. Further details have also leaked online, revealing that Tom Clancy's The Division Heartland is an open-world survival game with a contamination zone preventing players from exploring certain areas.
Tom Clancy's The Division: Heartland is currently in development.