Ubisoft’s free-to-play shooter The Division Heartland cancelled three years after being announced

Ubisoft has cancelled its upcoming free-to-play shooter The Division Heartland, as it moves to refocus its resources on “bigger opportunities”.

The Division Heartland was announced for PC and consoles back in May 2021, when it was original set to launch within a vague “2021-22” release window. Since then, it’s resurfaced intermittently, and an open beta last summer – followed by a Taiwanese ratings board sighting – seemed to suggest a launch was finally drawing near.

However, three years after Heartland’s unveiling, Ubisoft has now officially called time on the still-unreleased project. “After careful consideration, we have made the tough call to halt development on Tom Clancy’s The Division Heartland, effective immediately,” the publisher wrote in a statement announcing the news (thanks IGN).

“Our priority now is to support the talented team members at our Red Storm Entertainment studio,” it continued, “who will be transitioning to new projects within our company, including XDefiant and Rainbow Six.” In a note in its 2023-2024 earnings report released today, Ubisoft offered a little context for the cancellation, calling XDefiant and Rainbow Six “bigger opportunities” for the company.

The decision to halt development on Heartland is just the latest in a long line of recent cancellations at Ubisoft. Last July, it was reported an Immortals Fenyx Rising sequel had been canned, and that was after the publisher’s mysterious PvP battle arena game Project Q, plus three unannounced games, all officially got the chop. Ubisoft cancelled Splinter Cell VR, Ghost Recon Frontline, and two other unannounced titles a year earlier.

Those cancellations – and subsequent layoffs – came amid disappointing financial results for the publisher, which last year admitted it was facing “major challenges as the industry continues to shift towards mega-brands and long-lasting titles”.