The Division | Should you buy the Season Pass?
For some, Tom Clancy’s The Division just didn’t seem to be their cup of tea. For others, the recent closed Beta was enough of a turn-off to cancel preorders (though it’s a fair bet some of those pre-orders were made just to get access to the Beta.)
People in these two groups seem to be in the minority, though; judging by positive comments on forums all over the Internet, The Division Beta was a critical success and Ubisoft should see the money rolling in by the truckload when the full game launches on 8 March.
A lot of money, it would seem. But, there’s always an opportunity to spend more, and one of those opportunities comes in the way of the Tom Clancy’s The Division Season Pass.
Ubisoft has pretensions on the MMORPG crown – and with that comes the expectation that there will be regular new content released over the life of the game. The publisher has gone some way to addressing fans’ expectations with the announcement that the Season Pass will give access to three major content drops throughout the first year:
- Expansion I: Underground
- Expansion II: Survival
- Expansion III: Last Stand
It’s assumed that these expansions will also be available to purchase individually – though there has been no confirmation of that just yet. If that’s the case, what are the benefits of investing in the Season Pass up front?
Firstly – if the expansions are to be available separately – it’s expected that the Season Pass will represent a (modest) saving over individual purchases, if history is anything to go by. Season Pass investors will also get access to some exclusive gear and content, too. From Ubisoft:
“…on March 8, Season ass owners will unlock the exclusive Sawed-off Shotgun, a unique sidearm customized for short-range destruction. Season Pass owners also receice a set of exclusive outfits and weapon skins, as well as access to special monthly benefits including exclusive content drops and special events.”
Ubisoft
The bit that interests us here is “special monthly benefits including exclusive content drops and special events” – suggesting that there will be some in-game items and, in particular, events that are exclusive to Season Pass owners.
The Season Pass is available in a bundle alongside the main game – Tom Clancy’s The Division Gold Edition, currently priced at an eye-watering £79.99 on the Xbox Store.
We’ll bring you more information on Season Pass as we get it.
Our Take
We think The Division will be a marmite affair, with many already having fallen completely in love with this vision of post-apocalyptic New York. As such, we expect the Season Pass to be a popular choice, especially if Ubisoft can offer added value through exclusive content.
We have to remember, though, that a Season Pass is a significant investment – to have some content unavailable to a portion of the population simply because it is unaffordable to pay so much up front risks fracturing the player base and generating ill will towards the publisher.
