The Division will no longer have a companion app

The days of every blockbuster title getting a superfluous companion app appear to be coming to an end, with Ubisoft's announcement that it is spiking The Division's app. A rep from Massive Entertainment advised IGN that the app has been abandoned because it "created an imbalance", but it may well have been abandoned because no one likes companion apps.

Is that true, though? I saw the app in action last year during a hands-off preview and it seemed okay, but then – when you sit down to play a slick cooperative shooter, no one wants to be assigned to a tablet screen. Interestingly, Assassin's Creed: Syndicate will have no companion app either, which is just as well, considering how tedious the functionality was in last year's instalment.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.