Year 8 Season 1 of The Division 2 will revolve around Agents once more taking on the forces of the Black Tusk. It will bring with it new features that allow players to ramp up the level of challenge they face while also allowing Agents to get stronger as well.

As a whole, Year 8 content is slated to bring with it new special events, features, revamps, gear, weapons, as well as player-requested features like PvP-focused balance changes and content drops, cross-platform multiplayer, and the reintroduction of Classified Assignments, complete with brand new stories and missions. The Division 2 is also getting its second Incursion – the Steel Creek hydroelectric dam and power station.

The trailer also gives us more details on The Division 2: Survivors, which was announced all the way back in August 2025. The mode is slated to feature new additions and improvements, with the primary setting being a snowstorm-ravaged version of Washington DC. Game director Andrada Grecuic has noted that “the team is making good progress, focusing hard on making a systemic experience where the cold weather impacts much more than the mood. We are building Survivors with our players, and we are happy to already be doing closed testing.”

The trailer enters its final moments by teasing a brand new DLC, which is slated for release later in the year. While we didn’t quite get too many details about this DLC, the CG teaser indicated that it will revolve around someone that is hunting down SHD Agents.

Ubisoft had confirmed that it has Year 8 plans for The Division 2 back in January, with game designer Raul-Sebastian Birnoschi saying that it has planned “exciting content reveals, fresh gameplay features, and ultimate challenges.”

This month is also bringing a limited-time Realism Mode to the game, which will focus on “action-focused combat with reduced time-to-kill and realistic weapon damage based on bullet calibre,” according to creative director Yannick Banchereau. However, this mode will require players to create a brand new character, since it won’t include any of the RPG elements that The Division 2 is known for, like loot and leveling.

The Division 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. In the meantime, check out our review of the last expansion to hit the title – Battle for Brooklyn – which we gave a score of 7 out of 10 thanks to its solid mission design and responsive AI. However, we also made a note of technical issues on PC that often resulted in the game outright crashing.

In a statement on Twitter, Massive acknowledged that it would miss Gerighty but that “his mark will live on.” “We’ll continue to bring the world he’s been part of creating to our players for years to come. Julian, your legacy is part of this studio and remember: Once an Agent, always an Agent.”

Regarding his departure, Gerighty said on his own profile, “It’s time for me to hang up my go bag (keeping the watch) as I go on another grand adventure. The Division’s future burns bright, and I can’t wait for you to discover what the teams have been working on.”

Gerighty became series executive producer back in 2023, having been busy with directing Star Wars Outlaws. He would announce The Division 3 at the same time, though there haven’t been any other details since.

Of course, given his importance, there may be some concern about the project’s status. The Division 2 also has plenty of content coming up, from Year 8 and the new Realism Mode in the upcoming Anniversary Season to the new Survivors mode. That’s not even accounting for The Division Resurgence on mobiles. Massive’s response? “Don’t worry.”

“Our teams who built this world with Julian are still here, carrying it forward with an ambitious, unchanged commitment for the future.” True enough, creative director Yannick Banchereau is still going strong on The Division 2, even teasing some more surprises for the future. Meanwhile, Survivors is led by Magnus Jansén, previously responsible for The Division 1’s Survival DLC (which arguably pioneered the extraction genre).

The Division 3 doesn’t have a release date or platforms, but we’re expected to learn more about The Division 2’s next year of content this March. It’s also possible that The Division gets a Definitive Edition, based on a banner spotted at FPSDay in Japan.

Further in the same email, Ubisoft has also noted that the studios are working on improvements to the company’s in-house Snowdrop engine and Ubisoft Connect, referring to the work as “an unannounced innovative tech project” that is expected to “play a central role in the development” of the engine and the digital distribution platform.

This comes just a few months after Ubisoft had announced a “voluntary career transition program” for Massive Entertainment, asking some of the studio’s employees to be subject to voluntary lay-offs. Employees that agreed to this program would be offered a “comprehensive” severance package “that includes financial and career assistance.”

“As part of our ongoing evolution and long-term planning, we have recently realigned our teams and resources to strengthen our roadmap, ensuring our continued focus on The Division franchise and the technologies, including Snowdrop and Ubisoft Connect, that power our games,” wrote the studio in its statement from back in October.

Interestingly, the report by GamesIndustry.biz has noted that this voluntary lay-off program had seen some employees of Massive Entertainment take Ubisoft up on its offer. Exact numbers haven’t been revealed, however.

According to the report, this is going to be the second round of lay-offs affecting one of Ubisoft’s studios despite the year barely having started. Ubisoft Halifax had been closed earlier this month, with 71 employees being affected. It is worth noting that the studio was also in the midst of unionising, having formed the first labour union under Ubisoft in North America.

“Over the past 24 months, Ubisoft has undertaken company-wide actions to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and reduce costs,” said Ubisoft in a statement. “As part of this, Ubisoft has made the difficult decision to close its Halifax studio. 71 positions will be affected. We are committed to supporting all impacted team members during this transition with resources, including comprehensive severance packages and additional career assistance.”

The previous year was also a dire one for Ubisoft when taking lay-offs into account, with the company having confirmed in an earnings report back in November that it had laid off 1,500 employees over the preceding 12 months. These lay-offs were noted as part of cost reduction efforts, with the goal of around €200 million reduction in base spending by FY 2026. The company had also confirmed that it was going to seek additional reductions of €100 million by FY 2027.

During the earnings report, CEO Yves Guillemot had also spoken about plans to invest heavily into the use of generative AI, referring to the technology as “a revolution for our industry as the shift to 3D”.

“We are making great strides in applying Gen AI to high-value use cases that bring tangible benefits to our players and teams,” said Guillemot. “It’s as big as a revolution for our industry as the shift to 3D. And we have everything to lead on this front.”

The developer will reveal more details in March, the same month that the limited-time Anniversary Season kicks off (and adds the brutal new Realism Mode). However, creative director Yannick Banchereau also teased that Massive “still has a few more surprises” in store for fans. Perhaps hinting at The Division Definitive Edition, which was spotted on a banner at the show?

Maybe there will be a teaser for The Division 3, announced in 2023. Series executive producer Julian Gerighty recently hyped up the sequel by saying it’s “shaping up to be a monster,” but couldn’t offer any more details. This would seemingly indicate that it has a ways to go, but surely Massive could reveal something about the premise or setting.

As for The Division 2, one piece of content that’s seemingly ripe for a Year 8 release is Survivors, a new survival extraction mode based on The Division 1‘s second DLC. It sees Washington D.C. in the midst of a harsh snowstorm, and players must gather resources to survive.

While Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has already seen strong post-launch support with major story packs, and From the Ashes, launching alongside Avatar: Fire and Ash, feels like a much meatier add-on thanks to its new campaign built around its protagonist, and its focus on the newly added third-person camera option.

While largely revolving around the same war that the protagonists have been fighting against the RDA, From the Ashes puts players in the shoes of a new protagonist, So’lek, who is waging his own war against the RDA while also managing to assist the other forces. Along the way, however, So’lek also has to face off against a hostile clan: the ruthless Ash people known as the Mangkwan clan that has decided to form a coalition with the RDA.

"From the Ashes puts players in the shoes of a new protagonist, So’lek, who is waging his own war against the RDA."

From the Ashes is set after the base game, opening with a transmission that points to escalating chaos in the region, an assault on the Aranahe and wildfires spreading through a ravaged stretch of the Kinglor Forest, the aftermath of the coalition between the RDA and the Mangkwan.

With previous DLCs having largely acted as additions to the base game, From the Ashes feels like more of a self contained campaign than it does a typical story pack. The developer itself has noted that the expansion offers roughly 20 hours of new gameplay, but this largely comes down to how much of the side-missions you want to take on. During my time with it, I was able to finish the main story of From the Ashes in around 15 hours, and came away quite satisfied with it. The story is paced excellently, and there isn’t really much down time that would otherwise feel like player time that is being wasted through unnecessary padding.

The main campaign of From the Ashes also features quite a few epic set pieces, which will often have you seamlessly weaving in and out between battles taking place in the air as well as on the ground. Along with this, major story beats are often punctuated with fun boss fights that, while not quite as complex as one might expect, offer interesting shake-ups to the general gameplay. Some of these fights will have you figure out the boss’s attack patterns and wait for openings before striking, while others will offer interesting puzzles that open up their weak spots.

"The main campaign of From the Ashes also features quite a few epic set pieces."

There is also plenty of variety present in these boss fights, from aerial battles against other Banshee riders and helidromes, to fights that feel like they were straight out of a Metal Gear game, like an entire level that revolves around sneaking up on a sniper.

So’lek works well as our eyes and ears here, and right off the bat, he feels more defined than the base game’s Sarentu lead. Instead of starting as a cryo-sleep blank slate, So’lek is a veteran of the conflict, and From the Ashes leans into that, balancing his simmering anger with quieter moments, like the horror of having to fight one of your own. So’lek is also compelling because he’s willing to turn the RDA’s tools against them—and the game sells how well-versed he is with that kit, whether it’s a metal breastplate, an assault rifle, or the ruthless efficiency of a knife.

Fundamentally, the gameplay loop is familiar, but the additions are meaningful. Third-person makes stealth easier to read and takedowns more satisfying, while going loud feels better suited to So’lek’s kit. His new skill tree enables flashier, action-movie moments, slowing time to line up shots, revealing weak points, and chaining new takedowns (including aerial finishers off your banshee). Speaking of which, the banshee also feels far more intuitive to control in From the Ashes thanks to its more refined controls, especially on keyboard and mouse.

"So’lek is also compelling because he’s willing to turn the RDA’s tools against them."

Some of the changes to the gameplay also involve So’lek getting new progression systems in the form of brand new crafting recipes that help him get stronger, as well as his own unique skill tree. It is worth noting that From the Ashes acts as a standalone campaign largely separate from the base game’s story, which means that you won’t get to bring the gear you might have picked up as Sarentu into So’lek’s adventure.

Generally speaking, From the Ashes presents some of the most fun and interesting combat encounters that the game has ever seen. Enemy placement, for example, feels a lot more deliberate this time around, allowing for deeper and more engaging stealth gameplay. At the same time, the encounters also feel like they have been well-balanced with the idea of tackling them head on in mind. The only real downside to this fine balance in various aspects of game design like enemy placement is the fact that it likely influenced the decision to cut out co-op gameplay in From the Ashes, unlike the rest of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora which allows for two-player co-op through its entire campaign.

Being able to start From the Ashes straight from the menu is a big plus for anyone who doesn’t want to replay a lengthy open world first, though you still need to own the base game. A notable early issue was a progression block in the A Blessing mission: if you entered that section without explosive grenades equipped, you could get stuck. Aside from that, the expansion has been relatively stable, benefiting from the years of post-launch support the base game has received.

"Being able to start From the Ashes straight from the menu is a big plus for anyone who doesn’t want to replay a lengthy open world first."

These visuals have been buoyed by strong performance, and during my time with From the Ashes, I was able to get a steady frame rate of over 100 frames per second at a resolution of 2560 x 1440. The title expansion was reviewed on a PC running on an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU, an AMD Radeon RX 7800XT GPU, and 32 GB of DDR5-6000 RAM. Along with this, the load times were also impressively fast thanks to the game being installed on a high-speed NVMe SSD. While we weren’t able to test out how well it might run on a lower-end system, the fact that it features improved support for a smoother 40 FPS mode can only be a good thing for platforms like the Steam Deck.

Visually, it picks up right where the base game left off. Where the original contrasted Pandora’s beauty with the RDA’s uglier industrial footprint, From the Ashes leans hard into devastation—much of it set in a ravaged Kinglor Forest that makes the scale of this war feel more personal and more brutal.

From the Ashes feels like a strong capstone chapter for Frontiers of Pandora’s post-launch story: a darker slice of the conflict, a more defined protagonist in So’lek, and combat that feels punchier thanks to the new skills and third-person flow. Even if you bounced off the base game, its separate start makes it one of the easiest ways to sample what Frontiers does best, stealth, combat, and open-world exploration.

This game was reviewed on PC.

Ripping a turret out and turning it against the enemy? Unleashing his rage with arms wide open? Catching a ride on an Ikran before diving off to execute an RDA mech? Take your pick – they all benefit from the third-person perspective. If this wasn’t enough, a gameplay walkthrough will be released on November 20th, potentially offering even more third-person goodness.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – From the Ashes launches on December 19th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Fortunately, base game owners won’t have to purchase it to experience the third-person view. It arrives on December 5th in a free update alongside New Game+. If you’re keen on a new playthrough, then improved gear, a new skill tree and tougher threats await.

The bug fixes brought along with the update are quite extensive, and include improvements made to the general UI with fixes for various issues like the equipment menu flickering, the directional button icons not displaying properly, and even localised text overlapping with each other in some instances.

On the gameplay side of things, Star Wars Outlaws on the Switch 2 has now gotten improvements to how protagonist Kay Vess moves around under “certain conditions.” Unfortunately, Ubisoft hasn’t revealed exactly what these improvements entail, or even what kinds of fixes were made to the title’s overall performance and stability.

While Star Wars Outlaws has been out on the Nintendo Switch 2 for a month at this point, Ubisoft has also confirmed that it will be releasing a free demo for players who might still be on the fence about it. The company hasn’t yet confirmed the details about the demo, including how much content will be available or whether players will be able to carry over their progress from the demo into the full game.

The Switch 2 release of Star Wars Outlaws was originally revealed all the way back in July, with the game’s developer also confirming some of the console-exclusive features it would have, such as using its touch screen for in-game UI elements. For more details about Star Wars Outlaws, which is also available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, check out our thoughts on its current state.

Set after the base game’s events, he’s left for dead after the corporation teams with the Ash clan. So’lek seeks to reunite with the Sarentu while wreaking havoc against his enemies across the destroyed Kinglor Forest. Players will also explore a new area and potentially learn even more about the character in a “darker, more personal story.”

New combat mechanics are promised, but further details have yet to be revealed. While From the Ashes retails separately, new players can purchase it as part of a bundle, which includes the base game.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Before the expansion’s launch, Massive will release a free update that adds third-person mode and New Game Plus. Head here for more details.

The title is was released on the Nintendo Switch 2 on September 4 after having been available across PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S since August 2024. The FAQ also lists a few other details for the release, including the fact that the Switch 2 version has features exclusive to it, like optimisations for handheld mode, motion controls for some gameplay, touch controls for menu navigation and some minigames, and even gyro aiming.

Ubisoft has also confirmed that Star Wars Outlaws on the Switch 2 runs at frame rates of up to 30 FPS in both docked mode as well as handheld mode. Along with this, the title will also require an Internet connection for installation. Playing, however, can be done completely offline.

Along with this, the Switch 2 release of Star Wars Outlaws also includes all of the updates and optimisations that the PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of the game have gotten over the year since its release, including gameplay changes and technical stability fixes. Both of the DLCs released for the title so far – Wild Card and A Pirate’s Fortune – are included with the purchase.

As for how the physical release of the game will work, Ubisoft has confirmed that it makes use of a Game-Key Card, which won’t really have any of the game data included in the cartridge. Rather, the cartridge acts as proof for the console that you own the game, while installation will take place entirely over the Internet after the title is downloaded. Content from the Ultimate pack will also need to be purchased separately for the Switch 2 version, since the release is only the Gold Edition. The Ultimate pack can be bought off the Nintendo eShop.

Star Wars Outlaws was announced as coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 back in July. The announcement featured creative director Drew Rechner and Redlynx senior producer Pasi Piispa, who revealed some of the Switch 2-exclusive features that had been made for the title.

Earlier this month, two videos had made their way online courtesy of a player who got their hands on the title early. The videos did a great job of showcasing the visual fidelity as well as the performance of Star Wars Outlaws on the Nintendo Switch 2 across both handheld mode and docked mode. It is unknown, however, if the gameplay featured in the video also included the planned day one patch for the game.

For more details about the current state of Star Wars Outlaws, check out our thoughts, where we praised the improvements that have been made to the title with post-launch over the last year.

As evidenced from the video, the Switch 2 version of Star Wars Outlaws manages to strike a fine balance between performance and visual fidelity. While definitely a downgrade when compared to the PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions, the relatively weaker hardware in the Switch 2 is still able to push out impressive visuals while maintaining a baseline frame rate of 30 FPS. Some of the texture details have suffered in the port, however, with some walls looking incredibly muddy due to low-resolution textures.

As for handheld mode, the visual fidelity takes a noticeable hit that the high-quality display of the Switch 2 isn’t able to sufficiently compensate for. When in-game, the frame rate seems to stay under 30 FPS, and there are plenty of graphical artifacts that look like they might be cased by the heavy level of DLSS upscaling that might be required to run the game at acceptable frame rates. Travelling large distances on a speeder also causes some frame rate hitches, likely from having to load in new parts of the map that the player is travelling to.

As noted by Mataleao, the differences between the handheld and docked modes of Star Wars Outlaws largely comes down to them running at similar frame rates, albeit with handheld mode losing out quite a bit in terms of visual fidelity, including reduced draw distance for foliage and reduced level of detail for things that might be further away.

On the positive side of things, Star Wars Outlaws still looks quite playable on the Switch 2 despite the visual and performance downgrades, and the UI and HUD have generally been adjusted quite well to ensure that they remain readable on the smaller display of the handheld console when compared to a large TV or monitor.

The Switch 2 version of Star Wars Outlaws was announced back in July during a Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase. The announcement featured creative director Drew Rechner, who spoke about some of the Switch 2-specific features of the game alongside Redlynx senior producer Pasi Piispa. Among the features of the title are options for new control modes, including touchscreen controls for interacting with in-game touch panels.

Star Wars Outlaws on Switch 2 also include the two expansions that the title has gotten since its release – A Pirate’s Fortune and Wild Card. The game has been available on PC, PS5 and Xbox series X/S since August 2024. For more details on the game, check out our thoughts on its shape in more recent times, as well as our reviews for the A Pirate’s Fortune and Wild Card expansions.