Ubisoft revealed a major update to Rainbow Six Siege coming this June, major enough for the multiplayer tactical shooter to have a slight title change. It’s now Rainbow Six Siege X. With a new logo.
The new Siege X update introduces a new mode only available for PC and ninth-gen consoles (PS5, Xbox Series X|S). It’s called Dual Front, and it’s a 6V6 mode and players on each team can mix Attacker and Defender Operators in one team, a series first.
The format of Dual Front will see players on each side of the map, District, push to take control of a Neutral Sector by taking on time-limited assignments. Completing these and controlling the Neutral Sector gives rewards, and an edge, over the other team. And pursuing the Neutral Sector comes at the cost of leaving key positions vulnerable for the opposing team.
Dual Front also allows of respawns and Operator repicks on each respawn, so it’s a completely different experience to the core game mode Siege has had for the last 10 years. Rainbow Six Siege has been around for that long.
Siege X will also be reworking the core Siege experience with major overhauls across the board. Clubhouse, Chalet, Border, Bank and Kafe will be getting new lighting, shadows and up to 4K textures as part of a graphics rework. Three maps will be getting the treatment in each new season to come. The maps themselves will be more destructible for more strategic options. The movement when rappelling has been given improved controls to the point that you can just run horizontally and jump around building corners. The audio propagation and reverb has been reworked to allow for better audio cues. And an updated Pick And Ban system speeds things up by having simultaneous banning for each round.
And lastly, Siege X will see the a change in its anti-cheat solution with the new R6 ShieldGuard. This will include the ability for live security updates to go live without the need of a scheduled server maintenance to slow down cheat creation. It remains to be seen if the new R6 ShieldGuard is going to be an intrusive piece of software similar to most anti-cheat solution in other multiplayer games, as well as how effective it is in slowing down and catching cheaters.
Ubisoft will also make Rainbow Six Siege a free game with the release of the Siege X update, sort of. New players can have access to the new Dual Front mode as well as Unranked and Quick Play modes, with 26 Operators earnable through progression. You will need to pay for an upgrade to access Ranked Mode and Siege Cup as well as more operators.
For current players, nothing is changed in regards to their access to Rainbow Six Siege. Rather, Ubisoft is throwing some veteran rewards based on the year a player start playing.
Rainbow Six Siege X Update Features
- New Mode: Dual Front (PS5, PC, Xbox Series X|S only)
- 6V6 mode, featuring 35 Operators, Attackers and Defenders on One Team
- One new Dual Front-only mode: District
- Capture Neutral Sector via completing time-limited assignments
- Respawns, Operator repicks avaialable
- Curated Operators rotate twice a season, Neutral Sector assignments change every season
- Graphics Rework
- New lighting, shadows, up to 4K textures
- Reworked maps on Siege X update: Clubhouse, Chalet, Border, Bank and Kafe
- Three maps will be “modernised” with graphical upgrade each season
- New destructible envroments
- New destructible ingredients: fire extinguishers, gas pipes and metal detectors
- Improved Rappel movement
- Can now run horizontally, jump around building corners
- Audio propogation and reverberation rework for better audio cues
- New onboarding experience for new players
- Improved Pick And Ban system including simultaneous bans
- R6 ShieldGuard Anti-cheat
- Rainbow Six Siege becomes free to access select modes
- Modes avaialable: Dual Front, Unranked, Quick Play
- 26 Operators available via progression
- Premium edition upgrade unlocks Ranked Mode, Siege Cup (once reached level 50) and immediate access to new Operators
Rainbow Six Siege X, the free update to Rainbow Six Siege, will go live on June 10.
Ahead of the release, players can try out the Siege X beta for PS5, PC (only via Ubisoft Connect) and Xbox Series X|S to get a hands-on on the Dual Front mode, new destructible ingredients and rappel movements. This includes the ability to do custom games with a squad of friends. The beta is open to everyone, not just those with access to Siege. But getting access requires one to have a Twitch account as codes are distributed by Twitch drops from watching participating livestreams.