The Division devs say the game started as a World of Warcraft-style MMO

Ubisoft’s original The Division looked very different early on. In a new anniversary video, developers from Massive Entertainment said the project began as more of a traditional MMO, with World of Warcraft-style hotbars, before the team shifted it toward the cover shooter/RPG mix players eventually got.

According to the Eurogamer report, creative director Drew Rechner said the team was still figuring out the balance between shooter mechanics and skills during development. That process eventually led to what the devs describe as an “observe, plan, execute” loop, which pushed the game away from being a straight MMO clone.

The roughly 20-minute video is mostly a look back at the first game for its 10th anniversary, with original developers playing together and talking through how key systems came together. Along the way, they touch on things like encounter design, weapon handling, and the networking challenges behind the game’s multiplayer setup.

The biggest takeaway, though, is that The Division could have landed in a very different genre space if Massive had stuck with that earlier structure. Instead, it became a loot-driven online shooter with RPG elements, which is the format the series still follows.

If you’re curious about the prototype-era version of the game, this is one of the clearer behind-the-scenes looks Ubisoft has shared in a while.