The Division 2 PC game is finally playable and I have been itching to create a Division 2 real life comparison gameplay post. Based in Washington DC, the open beta gave limited access to try a few missions and explore the White House and surrounding area.

Division 2 Gameplay

Based in Washington DC, the game was announced on March 9th 2018 by Ubisoft, making it 2 years after the Original Division game was released. Division 2 starts in the White House and the gameplay is set 7 months after the previous game. The gameplay plays the story of a civil war between the survivors and criminal bandits which has broken out. As well as playing alone or side by side your gaming buddies to defeat the enemies, there is also a new Dark Zone area like the original Division, allowing Player-vs-player gameplay.

Straight from the start you can see that the gameplay is a 1:1 scale, which Ubisoft announcement before the game was available to play. There are many new things in the game, such as are the new skills with the assault drone and the chem launcher. There will also be new raids that will require working with others. We can’t wait to get our hands on the whole game on the official game release date is 15th March 2019.

Division 2 Real Life Comparison

All game screenshots used in this blogpost have been taken by my own gameplay from the PC version. These were taken during the closed beta weekend in February and the open beta in March 2019. However I have unfortunately never been to Washington DC. So this real life comparison includes screenshots from Google Maps and photos taken by others, all sourced to the original owners.

This layout shows the real life photos first with the gameplay screenshot second.

Inspiration for making this post about Division 2 came from my first real life gameplay comparison post of Battlefield 5 in 2018. My post Battlefield 5 Rotterdam Map Comparison to Real Life was fun to create, and easy as I was able to make my own photos in Rotterdam where I live.

The White House

In Division 2 you are based in the White House, now a building that has gone through destruction. This is also the starting area of the game. Unfortunately you cannot fully walk around the White House in the open beta but we got as close as we could for a decent view.

The first comparison is of the White House South Lawn.

Here is the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room – Photo source www.publicseminar.org

Below is of the White House North Lawn – Photo source Rob Young.

I also made a comparison of the statue found at Lafayette Square.

Rooms Inside The White House

Not everything can be seen in the White House during gameplay (at least during the demo), but I explored every room to see what we could compared to Google Maps. As expected, the layout and room sizes matched with windows and fire places in the correct places.

The first image is of the very broad Cross Hall. This hallway is used when head of states and joining spouses visit the White House. You can read more about it here.

The green room is used for small receptions, teas and cocktails before state dinners. You can read more about it here.

Below you can see the East Room. This room in the White House is used for receptions, ceremonies, concerts, dances, press conferences and banquets. You can see the resemblance with the chandeliers and windows. You can read more about it here.

The Red Room is used as a music room and reception room, as well as for small dinner parties. You can read more about it here.

Paintings Inside the White House

We found it interesting that we also found some of the paintings matching with the Google Maps images. In the gameplay there are more paintings throughout the White House but we could not match them all. However we did see in the gameplay the same paintings in multiple areas.

The painting in this first image is called Lighter Relieving a Steamboat Aground by George Bingham in 1847.

The painting in this second image is of 11th U.S. President James Knox Polk by George Peter Alexander Healy in 1858.

Washington Monument

During the demo gameplay we could not adventure to the base of the Washington Monument. However we could get a decent view from the White House.

Downtown / East End Washington DC

During the early levels of the demo you can explore some of the Downtown area and the East End area.

The first comparison is the US Department of the Treasury.

The next one is standing at Freedom Plaza.

Below is the Old Post Office Museum. I’ve read you can get some fantastic 360° views of Washington DC from the tower.

The next comparison is showing the Federal Triangle and the Federal Triangle Station.

The following comparison is of the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden building.

Below shows the National Portrait Gallery.

We also have these other Real Life Gameplay Comparison posts too:

Battlefield 5 Rotterdam Map Comparison to Real Life

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Comparison To Real Life

Summary

I enjoyed trying out the open beta and walking the streets of Washington DC. My partner played on further and tried out the Player-vs-player Dark Zone area too, which was fun to see. I enjoyed comparing the gameplay to what I could see on Google Maps and even learning about the buildings and locations too. I hope to find ourselves in Washington DC in the future too, so we can truly experience the city with our own eyes!

This post has not been sponsored. But if Ubisoft wants to send me goodies I wouldn’t say no! 😉

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Did you also play the open beta in February or March? Did you enjoy the realistic Division 2 real life comparison? Let us know what you thought in the comments!