Ubisoft Explains Why The Division Is Third Person

"I think it fits the cover-based gameplay so well," says Ubisoft's Julian Gerighty on the upcoming shooter.

One of the most interesting tidbits when it comes to The Division is that unlike most other shooters that have been released in the last few years, this particular game isn’t first person. The third person perspective has the game industry buzzing and recently, Ubisoft’s Julian Gerighty sat down with GameRant about why the company decided to go with a third person perspective. Even more people have been asking about why The Division is third person, considering the game that it most often is compared to in Destiny is first person.

“That’s a good question,” Gerighty said, “I think it fits the cover-based gameplay so well, and that’s really what we wanted to do. If you close your eyes and think “Okay, we have this incredibly detailed real-world city, it’s open-world, it’s a cover-based shooter, there’s exploration, there are gadgets.” Would first-person make sense? Not particularly. It’s better suited to a third-person experience.”

It stands to reason that if The Division had actually gone the first person route that it would have been compared to Destiny even more than it already is. It also stands to reason that it isn’t really the driving force behind it being third person. This is, after all a game that has a very different setting than Destiny. While loot drops and the always online functions of both games tie them together, there is plenty that is different. The perspective of the player is just one of those differences. The Division will be landing on the PS4, Xbox One and PC on March 8, 2016.

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