Executive producer on Ubi’s upcoming Tom Clancy title, The Division, Fredrik Rundqvist, has told ArabicGamers that the team didn’t want a “linear, story-driven RPG”.

Rundqvist said that taking players “by the hand and lead[ing] you around to see different stuff” was not the priority and that the team was “trying to modernise it, energise it a little bit, but still stay true to the core elements of what people expect.”

Talking in length about the game and how it would work, Rundqvist also said that the areas of Manhattan (where the game is set in a post-apocalyptic style setting) would be open from the very beginning of the game, allowing you to explore what you want to explore.

“You can explore the world and the content as you wish on your own.” He said.

The Division, set in the near future, tasks you with protecting the innocent civilians and fighting different factions for control of the city. For those of you that are trigger happy, you can shoot at factions all you like, but civilians are off limits.

“I don’t think we will have friendly-fire if you want to call it that,” said Rundqvist when asked if you were able to shoot civilians (in the face).

“I don’t think that will be the case. I imagine we don’t want to do that. We don’t want it to be a simulator, we want it to be realistic and plausible, but at the same time there needs to be a clarity of bad guys and good guys and who are you taking New York back for? You’re taking back [the city] for the people who used to live there. It wouldn’t really fit the game or the vibe of the game if you could go round shooting innocent people.”

We’ll have more on The Division as we get it. But for now, you can look forward to the full video interview which will go live in a few days.

To find out more about The Division, click here.