The Division 2 has launched the "Uprising" season featuring the "Prototype" gear set and the "Escalation" mode

Ubisoft dropped the launch trailer for "Rise Up," the first seasonal chapter of Year 8 for The Division 2. It’s the kind of update that pushes late-game players into new loops: progression is reworked, endgame activities kick off, and fresh materials show up to change how you play.

The Black Tusk are now part of the Retaliation system — expect BT forces to crop up in Washington and Manhattan and to bring progressively nastier waves. Mechanics stack in ways that shift encounters; for example, the alert level can climb even while you’re busy fighting other factions (annoying, thrilling — your call).

A headline grabber: BTSU-9 (BTSU 9) — an elite set of agents with behavior and firepower that outclass the usual punitive squads. Retaliation itself stays as a permanent layer of danger; BTSU-9 is a seasonal thorn, only around for "Rise Up."

For players who chase difficulty, Escalation (Esc) is a new permanent mode aimed at vets. It scales up, adds special modifiers, and rotates missions/strongholds weekly. Access requires tokens (tk) that you gain or bank depending on how the run goes; there are no checkpoints, so a single mistake can wipe the whole effort.

Gear-wise there's a new rarity: Prototype. Think of them as souped-up non-exotics — you can find them in Esc or convert fully optimized lvl-40 gear. They sport better stats and can take Augments (Augs) — upgradable effects for dialing builds the way you want.

Classified Assignments are back, this time centered on missing agents. The first two drops — "Evacuation from the Congressional Library" and "Anomaly of the Capitol Globe" — add new investigative beats and some exclusive loot for those who want to see the story threads through.