A blog post on the game’s official website has revealed that its long-awaited 1.4 update, as well as its Survival and Last Stand expansions, will not meet their previously announced release dates. The update and Survival expansion were expected to launch simultaneously in September, with the Last Stand expansion following later in the year.
Now, the 1.4 update will be released in October, separately from Survival. Releasing it ahead of the expansion will apparently allow the development team to concentrate its efforts on eliminating bugs and balancing various elements of competitive play.
The team outlines bugs, loot, and the time it takes to kill enemies as some of the most pressing issues that need to be tackled. However, the blog post states that the 1.4 update will be the start of an ongoing effort, rather than a one-time fix for all the problems afflicting The Division.
The Survival expansion has now been delayed until later in 2016, although no specific date has been confirmed at this time. Similarly, the Last Stand expansion has been pushed back to early 2017.
These significant delays are likely to upset players who have already paid for the content via season pass purchases. However, there are major issues with the game that need to be fixed if it is to have any kind of staying power beyond this year, so it’s easy to see why Ubisoft is prepared to push content back if necessary.
The game’s development team plans to give a complete overview of the changes being made with the 1.4 update in a Twitch live-stream scheduled for September 13.
