After viruses decimate society, a new Tom Clancy agency will secure the peace, one neighborhood at a time.

Almost all Tom Clancy games are united by a single element: Military operations in near-future settings. Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon addressed squad-based tactics, Splinter Cell examined stealth and espionage, and now Tom Clancy's The Division will examine how America's military would respond to a fictional post-apocalypse. Described as an online, open-world RPG, The Division is set in an alternate future where a virus has decimated American society, and a covert agency has emerged to save the civilians and resources that remain.

Ubisoft provided two E3 demos to introduce players to The Division's world. The first is a teaser introducing the premise itself, a scenario in which deadly viruses are spread across cash transactions during Black Friday. Since this world apparently never quite got the hang of debit card technology, millions were infected and the country plunged into chaos. Ubisoft's second video offered actual gameplay footage, depicting three agents and a drone-controlling operative make their way through a mostly deserted Manhattan, securing individual neighborhoods and resources along the way.

The Division's gameplay video presents XP bonuses and a persistent game world in which other units, possibly player-controlled, are active in real-time. Since The Division isn't openly touted as an MMO, presumably these online elements will be optional and co-op focused. Regardless, Ubisoft has hinted at cross-play with mobile devices, perhaps for players who will control those handy drones.

The Division has been confirmed for both the Xbox One and PS4.