The Division 2 is like my eighth-grade class trip to Washington, D.C., but with guns, and later this month it will give players even more national landmarks to tour/tear up.

During its E3 2019 press conference, Ubisoft announced that the first part of the excellent loot-shooter’s episodic DLC would launch in July. As of today, Ubisoft has officially revealed that the release date for Episode 1: D.C. Outskirts: Expeditions will be July 23 for Year One Pass Holders. Everyone else will gain access a week later, on July 30. 

In The Division 2’s weekly “State of the Game” livestream, Community Developer Chris Gansler said that owners of the season pass will have access to two new missions, “Manning National Zoo” and “Camp White Oak,” and the Expedition — a new PvE experience— along with all meta changes. Gansler described the weeklong pass holder exclusivity as an “early access” period.

When The Division 2’s first raid, Operation Dark Hours, debuted in May, many players criticized the lengthy eight-player mission’s lack of matchmaking and console players complained that it was far harder on PS4 and Xbox One than it was on PC. So, with the Episode 1, Ubisoft is adding the option to tackle the raid on Discovery Difficulty, which will introduce the ability to matchmake — a huge boon for players who don’t have seven friends regularly playing the game on the same console.

Additionally, the content drop will add two new exotics, new weapons, and flashlights and will tweak gear balancing, skill builds and crafting.

While the vast majority of Episode 1’s content is free to all players, Year 1 Pass Holders will get exclusive access to a pair of “Classified Assignments,” missions which will take agents to Central Aquarium and NSA Site B13. 

It’s just like when some of my friends couldn’t afford to go on our class trip. Immersive!