The Division will "cram it up" graphically on the PC

Martin Hultberg, head of communications at The Division developer Massive Entertainment, has dismissed suggestions that the studio is downgrading the game's graphics from PC to console. Instead, he said that each version is being developed to maximize the capabilities of its respective platform, and that means that the PC version will simply be able to do more.

"Downgrading is a weird term to use," Hultberg said in an interview with Open World Games. "Obviously, we want to make a game that looks the best it can on its respective format, so Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. So I think the term downgrade is a bit confusing and weird because we're trying to get the utmost out of every machine we use. So Xbox gets its attention, PlayStation gets its attention, and PC, of course, we'll be able to cram it up a bit more depending on the hardware you have."

"We address every console, every platform, as its own version, so we try to stay away from the thing where you go for the least common denominator, and everybody suffers for it," he continued, responding to a question about aiming for consistent performance—1080p, 60 FPS—across all platforms. "We want to make a good experience on all respective formats."

Interestingly, The Division wasn't even confirmed for the PC until just over a year ago, after an online petition attracted nearly 140,000 signatures. To find out more about the game, which is currently expected to be ready for launch sometime next year, hit up our E3 preview from June.

TOPICS

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.