Ubisoft has canceled The Division Heartland. First announced in 2021, the game was a free-to-play spin-off of The Division franchise developed by Red Storm Studio.
Ubisoft revealed the cancelation in an earnings report, stating,
“As part of Ubisoft’s efforts to streamline its operations and adapt to evolving market trends, there have been further reorganizations within the Global Publishing teams, both at the APAC region, that is not organized into three engagement hubs, and at the central level. Additionally, in line with the increased selectivity of its investments, Ubisoft has decided to stop development on The Division Heartland and has redeployed resources to bigger opportunities such as XDefiant and Rainbow Six.”
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The Division Heartland had been quiet for some time after its reveal, including being delayed. It eventually resurfaced with closed beta tests, but scarce updates on its existence caused doubt and confusion among fans. The game was billed as a PvEvP survival action experience with players controlling a Division agent tasked with protecting a small town from enemy factions and chemical contamination.
Despite the cancellation, we know it doesn’t mean the end of the franchise. Ubisoft announced The Division 3 last September, with series creator Massive Entertainment back at the helm. That game currently has no release window.
Heartland joins an expanding graveyard of canceled Ubisoft projects over the past few years. In January 2023, the publisher canceled its upcoming team-based arena battler Project Q and three other games in development. In 2022, the battle royale Ghost Recon Frontline, Splinter Cell VR, and two unannounced games were also axed. An unannounced sequel to Immortals Fenix Rising was also reportedly scrapped last July.