The Division 2 enters its 7th year in better shape than ever, as the Battle for Brooklyn DLC is finally here

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We’ve officially come full circle as The Division 2 Battle for Brooklyn DLC finally launches today.

Long-standing followers of the series might recognize my reference; the opening of the initial game took place in Brooklyn, New York City, and then moved your character to Manhattan.

With the second expansion pack for The Division 2, we’ll revisit a location that was hinted at in greater detail during the game’s grand unveiling, beyond the initial tutorial level.

This is a premium add-on, appropriately priced, offering a fresh narrative campaign for completion, an unexplored region to traverse, and new adversaries to engage – though I use the term ‘new’ loosely as they represent familiar groups, but with some additional flavor added.

The fact that we are here now is already quite remarkable. Originally, the Battle for Brooklyn was intended to start approximately a year ago.

I’ve noticed that Massive Entertainment decided to postpone the release of their game, dedicating more time to refining its core mechanics, system balance, and overall player experience. This extra effort is crucial for setting the game up for its extended lifespan, which aligns with their plans for a confirmed sequel.

However, during my recent conversation with the Massive team, I learned that The Division 2 wasn’t initially intended to progress beyond its initial plans. Originally, they had planned to release a year’s worth of additional content following the last expansion, Warlords of New York in 2020, but that was supposed to be the end of it.

Due to Massive Entertainment handling both Avatar and Star Wars ventures at Ubisoft initially, resources were diverted from The Division 2 towards these projects. However, in an unexpected victory for gamers, they acknowledged player feedback, recognized the game’s lasting appeal, and ultimately decided to change direction.

Since then, fresh gameplay options like Descent and Countdown have been incorporated, the narrative has been refreshed and expanded upon, and more recently, a comprehensive overhaul of the seasonal system. Now, over five years since the last expansion pack, we introduce Battle for Brooklyn.

In addition to the work done on the game’s expansion, Massive Entertainment has been focusing on enhancing the player’s initial experience. Even in its seventh year, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 continues to draw in new gamers.

The game is set to receive another enhancement since it’s now part of Xbox Game Pass, available both on PC and console starting today. Although Battle for Brooklyn remains a separate purchase, subscribers of Game Pass can enjoy all other content within the game, including the initial expansion.

For those just starting out, they can dive right into Battle for Brooklyn whenever they want, as there’s an option to quickly level up a new character to 40. However, if you’re a first-timer, I’d recommend taking your time and playing through the campaigns sequentially to fully immerse yourself in the gameplay experience.

In simpler terms, the plot of The Division 2 is quite engaging, but if you’re a fresh player, you might have missed some seasonal updates from recent years. However, it’s still worth experiencing, albeit it does require time investment. Fortunately, there’s an option to bypass earlier content and jump right into the new stuff, ensuring that new players don’t feel left out.

To clarify, the Battle for Brooklyn isn’t a large expansion like Warlords of New York; instead, it’s significantly smaller in scope. It’s more accurately labeled a “mini-campaign,” featuring just two newly introduced areas.

However, at just $15, I believe it’s a reasonable price considering the game has been free from additional costs (except for premium cosmetics and optional battle passes) for the past five years.

The launch is expected to occur on or around May 27; however, a maintenance period of approximately 7 hours has been scheduled, making it likely to happen during the European afternoon or early evening.

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2025-05-27 16:39