Today saw the release of the latest Tom Clancy game for PS4, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows—The Division. And while the game’s release has already caused a multitude of problems for creator UbiSoft, we’ve put our media monitoring and analysis software to work measuring the pre-release hype on social media leading up to the game’s release.
We analyzed all Twitter content using the hashtag #TheDivision from March 5 to 12:00amET on March 7 just before the game’s release today, in order to provide some perspective on the Twittersphere.
Note: Handles directly associated with the game such as @Xbox and @UbiSoft were omitted from the above charts.
GameSpot’s Twitter handle @gamespot was the top influencer by followers at 1,876,095, and almost cracked the top five by retweets with 431. It acknowledged delay in providing a review in its Twitter feed — Ubisoft purposefully withheld the game’s release to reviewers until the release date — but reaffirmed its commitment to “marathon the game” once it was released at midnight.
LIVE: Time to strap in for the long haul–We’re going to marathon #TheDivision on Xbox One! https://t.co/cy002jSjjI pic.twitter.com/GafhKs73Us
— GameSpot (@gamespot) March 7, 2016
Most of the top five influencers by retweets, such as @PoufyGB and @GoofballWebb, held contests for either copies of The Division or gaming packages that required either follows or retweets:
Gagnez le Collector #TheDivision à 150€ sur PS4, X1 ou PC ?
Pour participer : RT + suivez @RDCollectorFR & @PoufyGB pic.twitter.com/j5jxgPd7u0
— Benjamin Cornu (@PoufyGB) February 1, 2016
20 minutes until the #TheDivision giveaway is over! Thank everyone that participated & Good Luck. Retweet & Follow pic.twitter.com/nwR2POGODW
— GoofballWEBB (@GoofballWebb) March 7, 2016
However, amongst the top five influencers (by retweets) that did not include contests or giveaways, top influencers included @Arekkz (independent gaming channel) and @DivisionBlog (Games Intel’s blog for the game):
I was going to sleep in this morning so I’m ready for #TheDivision, but I’m too excited so I’m already awake 😀
— Arekkz (@Arekkz) March 7, 2016
Microsoft certainly did its part in promoting the game as several of the top influencers, including @gamespot and @TPAIN, tweeted about an invitation-only midnight release party for The Division in New York City (the game’s main setting):
Welp! See you guys in a week or so. Off to save New York. thedivisiongame #thedivision @ubisoft https://t.co/OTXHeN34JD
— T-Pain (@TPAIN) March 7, 2016
Microsoft throwing big launch party for #TheDivision in NYC tonight. https://t.co/eanIvMypap pic.twitter.com/3Lvw4vHecf
— GameSpot (@gamespot) March 7, 2016
Other top influencers focused on the midnight release aspect, with the word “midnight” getting more than 1k mentions alone:
@irizarryabdiel #TheDivision launches tomorrow, and you can check with your local stores for midnight release events https://t.co/5DYfKNap55
— GameStop (@GameStop) March 7, 2016
So while the reviews might not be out yet for this latest title from UbiSoft, hype for the game is especially high today.
