Fireballs in Manhattan? The Division’s Secret Life as a World of Warcraft Clone
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Massive Entertainment revealed that *The Division* was nearly a WoW-style MMO complete with hotbars and dog companions before pivoting to the cover-based shooter we know today. Jeff explores why this 'skill-based' shift was probably for the best, despite the loss of our hypothetical digital doggos.
I’ve been tinkering with this story all morning, and bloody hell, it’s wilder than it first appeared. You know that feeling when you cast a spell and it works a bit too well? Or perhaps when you try to brew a potion for strength but end up with something that just makes your hair turn neon green? That’s the vibe I’m getting from Massive Entertainment right now. It turns out that *The Division*, our favorite snowy, mid-crisis Manhattan simulator, nearly started its life as a hotbar-slinging, World of Warcraft-style MMORPG.
This bit of digital archaeology comes courtesy of a report by Connor Makar over at Eurogamer, who spotted some fascinating revelations in a 10th-anniversary video from the devs themselves. Massive Entertainment’s creative director Drew Rechner and game director Fredrik Thyland sat down for a bit of a nostalgia trip, and in the process, they showed us a glimpse of a reality that almost was—and frankly, it sounds like a glorious, chaotic mess.
### The Ghost of MMOs Past
Picture this: You’re hunkered down behind a yellow taxi in Brooklyn. A cleaner is charging at you with a flamethrower. Instead of lining up a headshot with your ACR, you’re staring at a hotbar at the bottom of your screen, waiting for your 'Tactical Grenade' cooldown to reset so you can press '4' and hope the RNG gods are smiling on you.
According to Rechner, the early builds of *The Division* were heavily inspired by the titan that is *World of Warcraft*. We’re talking traditional MMO mechanics, a UI that would make a raider weep, and—wait for it—a dog companion. Yes, we could have had a loyal hound roaming the plague-ridden streets with us. Instead, we got a game where we occasionally shoot a stray dog in the street because we’re monsters (don’t look at me like that, I know you’ve done it).
In the dev video, titled 'Cleaning the Broadway Emporium in The Division - Devs Playing | Episode 5', the pair reminisced about this 'Observe, Plan, Execute' (OPE) gameplay loop. In the early days, the 'Execute' part didn’t involve much twitch-reflex aiming. It was all about the stats, the builds, and the hotkeys. It’s a classic RPG setup, but as the devs admitted, the 'skill component wasn’t there.'
### The 'Skill' Conundrum
Now, here’s where my gentle skepticism kicks in. When a dev says 'the skill component wasn’t there,' what they usually mean is 'it didn’t feel like a blockbuster action movie.' Don’t get me wrong, I love a good shooter, but there’s a specific kind of wizardry involved in managing a complex MMO rotation while dodging fire. However, I reckon Massive made the right call here. Can you imagine the tonal whiplash of a gritty Tom Clancy story combined with the floaty, abstracted combat of a 2010-era MMO? It would’ve been like putting a wizard’s hat on a Navy SEAL. Entertaining for five minutes, but eventually, someone’s going to ask why we aren’t just using the guns.
They spent a long time trying to balance the 'shooter' vs. the 'RPG,' and honestly, that’s a struggle that defined the entire mid-2010s. We saw *Defiance* try it in 2013—a sci-fi MMOTPS that had its charms but ultimately faded into the digital ether. We saw *Wildstar* try to innovate on the formula and break hearts when it shuttered. *The Division* was standing on the edge of a precipice, deciding whether to be a niche RPG or a mainstream juggernaut.
### The Pivot That Saved the City
By leaning into the cover-based shooter mechanics, Massive accidentally (or perhaps brilliantly) paved the way for the 'Looter Shooter' craze that dominated the last decade. They beat out *Destiny* for the crown of 'fastest-selling new series' back in 2016, which is no small feat considering Bungie’s space magic was the 800-pound gorilla in the room at the time.
But let’s look at the human story here. Imagine being a dev who spent months, maybe years, coding a dog companion and a complex hotbar system, only for the directors to say, 'Right, toss it all out, we’re making *Gears of War* with spreadsheets instead.' That’s the chaotic nature of game dev. It’s an iterative process of blowing things up until something beautiful survives the blast.
From a Web3 perspective—since I know some of you are wondering if there’s a 'magic internet money' angle here—it’s interesting to think about how a more traditional MMO structure might have changed the game’s economy. A hotbar-heavy, stat-driven MMO often lends itself more easily to the kind of complex itemization and player-driven markets we see in blockchain experiments. Would a WoW-style *Division* have been more open to digital ownership? Perhaps. But would it have been as fun to play on a Friday night with your mates? Probably not.
### The Silver Lining
There’s a lesson here for all the indie devs I’m always cheering for: Don’t be afraid to kill your darlings. If your 'revolutionary' system feels like a wet noodle, maybe it’s time to pivot. Massive looked at their WoW-clone and realized it lacked the visceral punch needed for a Tom Clancy title. They found the 'why' behind the game—the tension of a tactical shootout—and built around that instead.
As we look toward *The Division 3*, which is currently in the works, it’s funny to think that the foundation of this entire franchise is built on the ruins of a fantasy-inspired RPG. It’s like finding out your favorite steakhouse used to be a vegan bakery. It’s weird, it’s unexpected, and it makes you appreciate the final product just a little bit more.
So, here’s to the dog companion that never was, and the hotbar that died so we could have snappy cover-to-cover transitions. Cheers to Eurogamer for digging this up, and cheers to Massive for being brave enough to show us their 'magical mishaps.' I’ll see you in the Dark Zone—just don’t expect me to cast a fireball at you. I’ll be the one with the sticky bomb and a very healthy dose of skepticism about that incoming extraction.
What do you reckon? Would you have played a WoW-style *Division*, or are you glad they went for the 'skill-based' shooter? Hit me up, let’s chat. Just keep it civil, or I might have to turn you into a digital newt (I got better).
Tags: The Division, Massive Entertainment, MMO, Game Development, Ubisoft
Original article: Eurogamer