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‘The Division,’ Ubisoft’s open-world shooter, is free to try through weekend

By Steven Petite May 4, 2017

The Division — Image used with permission by copyright holder

You’ve probably heard people praise Tom Clancy’s The Division since its launch last March. You’ve likely heard an equal or greater number of complaints about the game as well. But if all the push and pull for and against has kept you away from taking the plunge, now’s your chance to give the open world shooter a spin — for free. Ubisoft has announced a free weekend for The Division for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC (via UPlay).

On consoles the trial runs until Monday, May 8, at 3 a.m. ET, while PC players will get cut off a bit earlier on Sunday, May 7, at 4 p.m. ET. It’s important to note that The Division is an online-only game, so you’ll need an Xbox Live or PlayStation Plus subscription to partake in the action.

All aspects of the base game, including the campaign and the endgame Dark Zone will be available for trial players. And if you decide to buy the game after the trial period ends, your progress will transfer. While Ubisoft didn’t specify a time limit on the trial, the Microsoft store states that the trial will give players access to “access to six hours of gameplay.”

The free weekend coincides with a sale across all three platforms, so if you like what you play, you can pick up the game at a steep discount until May 9. On PS4 and Xbox One digital storefronts the base game is 60 percent off at $20, and on PC it’s $25 from both Steam and UPlay. If you want to explore areas not included in the trial, the Gold Edition of the game is currently $31.50 on PS4, $36 on Xbox One, and $45 on PC. The Gold Edition comes with the game’s three expansion packs, which greatly increase the size of endgame.

Despite the myriad of complaints that the endgame was broken at launch, The Division became the fastest-selling new IP of all-time, and held the throne even after the Overwatch craze started a few months later. Strong early sales propelled The Divsion to the third best-selling game of 2016 behind Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Battlefield 1.

While there’s still no word on an expected sequel, the game will receive new DLC throughout the year, and all of it will be free.

The Division‘s free trial is available right now.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…

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