Ubisoft has shared some exciting news about the future of Rainbow Six Siege as players move to next-gen consoles. The hugely popular online tactical shooter will be released for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X when the two consoles launch at the end of this year. That's the current target at least.
Rainbow Six Siege director Leroy Athanassoff revealed the news in a new interview with WindowsCentral. He confirmed that Ubisoft is working to ensure that there'll be a seamless transition between generations for players, and a big part of that is obviously making sure the game launches with the next-gen consoles.
But don't worry about getting left behind if you weren't planning on making the jump to next-gen at launch. Athanassoff also promised that the game will feature cross-generation multiplayer support. Basically, this means PS5 players can play with PS4 players, while Xbox Series X players can play with any pals who still own an Xbox One.
He also teased that Ubisoft is working with Sony and Microsoft to allow cross-platform play between PS4 and Xbox One. Of course, ultimately that decision comes down to the ones who actually make the hardware.
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"This is more a discussion between Microsoft and Sony," Athanassoff explained. "We would love to be fully cross-play--have Xbox players matchmaking against the PlayStation players. We are ready to support that. And hopefully, this will happen because as I said, it's a general move in the industry, and there is nothing that can prevent that. It's just a matter of time before it happens."
We've been seeing an awful lot more crossplay support in recent months. Most notably, Activision and Infinity Ward announced that Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare, released last October, would feature cross-platform play between PS4, Xbox One, and PC. If Call Of Duty can do it, there's no reason Rainbow Six Siege can't.
But while Xbox/PlayStation support could be on the cards, Athanassoff appeared to rule out PC gamers getting in on the fun. The reason for this is fairly simple: the advantage players using a keyboard and mouse would have. If the game were ever to add PC into the cross-platform mix, the director said it would be an opt-in feature.
"If you want to match with these players, to have better matchmaking, or whatever, and get your ass kicked by a keyboard and mouse, up to you," he said.
Since releasing in 2015, Rainbow Six Siege has gone from strength to strength. With over 50 million registered accounts under its belt, it's established itself as a serious contender in the esports space and shows absolutely no signs of slowing down.
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Rather than release a traditional sequel, Ubisoft has said in the past it simply plans to continually evolve Siege with more content and updates. A big part of that is obviously moving it between generations. I look forward to seeing where the shooter is this time next year, and if it'll continue to thrive even as next-gen titles begin to circle. It probably will.
Featured Image Credit: UbisoftTopics: Esports, Rainbow Six Siege, Ubisoft