The Division's PC feature-testing server coming very soon
Ubisoft also states that it is looking into how it could launch the PTS for PS4 and Xbox One.
Following its delay earlier in September, Ubisoft announced today that The Division's public test server is launching very soon. A technical test for the server will begin on Thursday, September 22, while it will open to the public on Monday, September 26.
In a forum post, Ubisoft explained that the PTS will be available to all PC players, including those who bought the game on Steam and Ubisoft's own Uplay store. The purpose of the PTS is to give Ubisoft a new way to test updates before it rolls them out to everyone. In theory, this should be good for the game, as Ubisoft can collect fan feedback earlier than before.
The PTS is only offered on PC and not console in part because of the way in which the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One work. Updates need to be certified by Sony and Microsoft, and this process can take a while. This runs counter to the idea of the PTS, where Ubisoft hopes to constantly iterate on ideas and features. That being said, Ubisoft explained that it is "investigating ways" to make the PTS available on console down the road.
When the PTS goes live for everyone next week, it will be found in your Steam or Uplay library if you own the game. Ubisoft did not say how it will select people for the technical test. More details about The Division's PTS can be found here, while Ubisoft will hold a livestream tomorrow at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET to discuss the feature even more.
The Division's PTS was originally scheduled to come out on September 15 before Ubisoft delayed it. The developer also recently pushed back the release of the game's upcoming DLC so it could prioritize fixing the game's issues and improving the overall experience. The Division's 1.4 update contains a lot of fixes and improvements, though a release date for this patch has not yet been announced.