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'Rainbow Six Siege' Could Go Free-To-Play Permanently, Says Developer

Ewan Moore

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'Rainbow Six Siege' Could Go Free-To-Play Permanently, Says Developer

Featured Image Credit: Ubisoft

Since launching back in 2015, Ubisoft has managed to transform Rainbow Six Siege. Watching the tactical shooter turn from a decent-enough FPS to a globally beloved esports phenomenon has been incredible, and it shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. We already know that Siege will be available on next-gen consoles later this year, but it sounds like the game could open up to an even larger audience in the near future.

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Speaking to PC Gamer, Siege director Leroy Athanassoff touched on the exciting possibility of making the game entirely free-to-play. Crucially, Ubisoft isn't against the idea. No doubt the publisher has seen the success of free-to-play titles like Fortnite and Apex Legends, as well as CS:GO's recent transition into a free-to-play experience.

Rainbow Six Siege
Rainbow Six Siege

While possible, it's still important to note that Athanassoff thinks there'd be a lot the team would need to work out before making Siege free.

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"It's a company decision," he explained. "I think on the development team we want that at some point. We want the game to be accessible to everyone. You need certain features ready to be a good and successful free-to-play game." Athanassoff argued that smurfing was something the team would need to figure out before it ever made the switch.

If you're not aware, smurfing is a player-coined term. It involves much more experienced players creating entirely new accounts so that they can be matched up with - and destroy - lower level players. The idea is that smurfers can get in a few easy games before Siege determines their skill level and takes them out of the kiddy pool again.

"What's important for us is that we find out as soon as possible that a player is highly skilled in the things that matter. The problem right now is that you can play a certain amount of matches with Copper players while you're a Diamond," Athanassoff said.

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Rainbow Six Siege teamkilling is a problem
Rainbow Six Siege teamkilling is a problem

With this already being an established problem in Siege, you can see why Athanassoff would want to sort it before going free-to-play. Imagine the carnage if creating a new account cost absolutely nothing, and could be done by anyone, anywhere. The good news is that Ubisoft continues to work on a smurfing solution. Perhaps once the matter is settled once and for all, the switch to free-to-play could begin in earnest?

As Athanassoff says, it remains in the hands of Ubisoft... but with Siege making the jump to next-gen, it could be the perfect time to reinvent the shooter yet again.

Topics: Rainbow Six Siege, Ubisoft

Ewan Moore
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