The Division's weird 'invisibility glitch' might be fixed (or might not)

A nasty bug in The Division that came to light recently enabled players to become semi-invisible and invulnerable, even in PvP mode. I say "semi-invisible," because when correctly performed, players will effectively step out of their bodies, so even though the body remains on the map, the player isn't actually inside it.

The team at Massive Entertainment initially said it wouldn't be fixed as part of the the maintenance patch that rolled out today, then extended that maintenance and said it would, but at the moment it's not entirely clear what's happened.

As demonstrated by GamesGlitches Gaming, the glitch really is quite easy to pull off: Simply move toward cover, double-tap your spacebar to roll, double-tap it again to take cover, and then spam it.

You won't actually be able to tell right off if you managed to pull it off, because from the glitcher's perspective, everything seems to be operating as normal. However, if you're playing with a friend they will be able to confirm that you character is stood stock still. Which means that when anyone shoots at you, nothing will happen because you won't actually be there.

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The potential for cheating is obvious, but even worse, as GamesGlitches points out, it's quite possible for the bug to occur, and even likely, by accident. Diving for cover is a common action in The Division, and who among us hasn't over-hammered the keyboard in an effort to speed things up? And because there's not a flashing "You Are Invisible" light to tell you what's happening, accidental cheaters could spend substantial time running around post-apoc NYC without knowing that they're driving everyone else in the game nuts.

What's interesting is that in today's State of the Game video, Ubisoft's Hamish Bode said a fix had been deployed this morning. The State of the Game post on The Division subreddit, however, says, "The issue which causes players to become invisible under certain circumstances could be fixed."

That's a far cry from "is fixed," and there does seem to be uncertainty in the comments at this point as to whether or not the glitch has actually been removed. I've emailed Ubisoft to (hopefully) confirm that it has been taken care of. In the meantime, if any Division players can confirm the situation, let us know in the comments.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.