Ubisoft might be having second thoughts about naming their game Rainbow Six: Quarantine, owing to the struggles and tragedy brought about by the coronavirus crisis.
Announced at E3 2019, the game is inspired by the Outbreak event in Rainbow Six: Siege. Set in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico (yes, that is a real place), a meteorite falls to Earth and the locals investigate the crash site. Several days afterwards, the city is under quarantine due to the appearance of an alien virus that transforms those infected into "Roaches." The enemies are able to use incredible abilities due to their physiological changes, like throwing out biological explosives, teleportation, and super strength and durability. Players were offered three types of missions which were all in aid of containing the crisis and eradicating the Roaches, and the event was received very positively for its sci-fi setting, exciting narrative, and it reminded a lot of people of Left 4 Dead.
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That's never a bad thing, so it's funny that Ubisoft were originally disinclined to expand upon Outbreak. "Putting a limited time on Outbreak was a way to say, 'Hey, thank you community. Thank you, players, for being with us. Let's open Year Three with a cool gift," said brand director Alexandre Remy. ""Would you give the same present on someone's birthday twice? Maybe not." They had us there, to be fair. But, fast forward only one year on from Outbreak, and the publisher had done a U-turn. Though what we saw of Rainbow Six: Quarantine was limited, it was a bolt from the blue and it represented a new dawn for the series that's been around for over two decades.
During the company's third quarter earning call, Ubisoft chief financial officer Frédérick Duguet explained that the release dates for Far Cry 6and Rainbow Six: Quarantine are expected to stay where they are, in spite of the impact of the pandemic on the game industry. Both games have been delayed to guarantee their quality; Far Cry 6 and Rainbow Six: Quarantine are undated at the moment, but Duguet said that we'll get our mitts on them by September 30th, 2021. Yet, when asked whether the team would be reconsidering the release of Quarantine while in the middle of a pandemic, CEO Yves Guillemot admitted that they are "evaluating" this choice.
"On Rainbow Six: Quarantine, we are creating a product that is actually, as it's named today, it is something we are evaluating and we will see what comes in the future on that product," he replied. Given the situation, I would hope that players could tell the difference between a fictional alien virus and real world events, but it's possible that Ubisoft would like to sidestep the controversy regardless. Quarantine is a better title than Outbreak, for sure. What about Scourge? "Scourge" is a brilliant word. It evokes the legacy of Siege, as a short and simple word with alliteration to boot, and it's also the name of a Decepticon. So you know it's bad news.
Featured Image Credit: Ubisoft, WebMD