Rainbow Six Siege Operation Twin Shells has finally been released and we have a new Defender joining the roster, Skopós??.

Skopós is the 37th Defender, and another 2-Speed 2-Health Operator, joining Rainbow Six Siege in? Year 9 Season 3. She will be rocking two Pantheon Shells, basically robots acting as Operators, in a single round. Although you can control only one at a time, the inactive Shell will still provide a lot of value to a round.

All Skopós weapons and gadgets

Skopós uses the new PCX-33 as the only primary weapon. It's a ?.308 caliber Assault Rifle with a 745 RPM fire rate and comes with a 3.30-second reload speed.

For the secondary firearm, you get to use the P229 pistol. Other Operators such as Hibana, Echo, Goyo, and Grim also have this we??apon choice in their loadouts.

Coming to the gadgets, you get to choose between Impact Grenades or Proximity Alarms.

Skopós abilities explained

Skopós controls a pair of V10 Pantheon Shells and justif?ies the intel or support role in a match. The active Pantheon Shell acts as an Opera?tor while the other acts as an Observation Tool, protected by a reinforced shield.

While playing as Skopós, you can operate only one Shell at a time but you can always switch between them at will. If an enemy kills one shell, you lose connection to both shells. That's how you eliminate Sk??opós while playing as an A?ttacker.

How to unlock Skopós in Rainbow Six Siege

To unlock Skopós immediately in Rainbow Six Siege Year 9 Season 3, you have to purc??hase the Premium Battle Pass which costs 1,200 Credits.

Otherwise, you have to wait 14 days (from September 10) for the early access period to get over and spend 25,00??0 Renown to unlock her.

The post All Sko?pós abilities and weapons in Rainbow Six Siege & how to unlock appeared first on Destructoid.

Rainbow Six Siege Year 9 Season 3 is upon us, and will add a brand-new Operator to the roster, Skopós. Before its official release, you can try this new? Defender on the Test Servers, and at the time of writing, some players have already figured o??ut a counter for her.

Skopós is the first character in the game who can? control two Shells (characters) in a single round, albeit one at a time. When one is active, the other one gets protected by a large deployable shield and then acts like a bulletproof camera or drone.

The method for countering Skopós is simple, yet effective, and all you need is a Claymore. You can see this in action below, in a clip from Rainbow Six Siege pro Dream's stream.

The clip is from a match on Oregon, where Dream kept one of the V10 Pantheon Shells in the southwest corner of the Small Tower Office. The opponent IQ placed a Claymore right in front of the deployable shield, and as soon as Dream switched to that Shell, the shield was removed, triggering the Claymore, and resu??lting in an instant kill.

If you check the clip above, the space between the Claymore and the shield was negligible. Let's take an ex??ample �you're playing as Skopós and have kept one Shell for flank watch but it's not active as you're busy defending a site, an Attacker? with Claymores could sneakily trap you into this counter. So, it results in a guaranteed kill most of the time, as Skopós won't have any control during the shield removal animation.

Claymore's Detection System is getting a buff in Year 9 Season 3, where the delay between activation and explosion will be removed. So, that makes this counter even better, and we might get to see it happen frequently wh?en Operation Twin Shells drops on September 10, 2024.

The post Rainbow Si??x Siege players may have figured out a Skopós counter already appeared first on Destructoid.

Rainbow Six Siege Operation Twin Shells will arrive ?in September 2024 to set Year 9 Season 3 in motion, with a plethora of Operator and weapon changes.

Year 9 Season 3 of Rainbow Six Siege has a lot to offer. Some of the highlights include a new Gre?ek Operator Skopós, Siege Cup Beta, anti-che??at improvements, Drone Boost feature, and a lot more.

So, if you are wondering what the release date of the ne??w season is along with the?? time, here's everything you need to know.

Rainbow Six Siege Year 9 Season 3 release date and time

Rainbow Six Siege Operation Twin Shells will be released on Tuesday, September 10, 2024. Here are the release times according to differe??nt time zones:

• 6 a.m. PT / 9 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. BST

At the time of writing, the test servers are up. So, if you want to try the new features before its officia??l release, s?imply download the test build from the Ubisoft client.

What's new in Rainbow Six Siege Y9S3?

Skopós is the highlight of Rainbow Six Siege Year?? 9 Season 3. She's the new Defender in the game who can control two shells named as Talos and Colossus, in a single round. Technically, you'll be playing as two Operators where she will control her pair of V10 Pantheon She??lls, with only one being operable at a time.

She also gets a new exclusive Assault Rifle, PCX-33. Several Operators such as Nøkk will be significantly buffed while ??Solis and Dokkaebi will be nerfed.

Siege Cup Beta is another new thing for the Rainbow Six Siege PC community. It will work similarly to how Premier mode works in Valorant, where teams of five compete against the best of the best from their regions. The beta will ?be limited to players from ?the EU and NA regions only.

Apart from that, we will also get the Versus AI 2.0 playlist �allowing you to finally defend against AI Attackers such as Ash, Nomad, Sledge, Thatcher?, and Thermite.

The post Rainbow Six Siege Y9S3 Operation Twin Sh?ells release d??ate: What you need to know appeared first on Destructoid.

Operation Twin Shells, Rainbow Six Siege's Year 9 Season 3, will pack a lot of punch with a new Defender and multiple buffs and nerfs for fan-favorite Operators, gadget?s, and weapons.

Rainbow Six Siege Y9S3 will be released in September 2024. Considering all the changes it will bring along, we'll witness another shift in the ongoing meta. The introduction of Skopós will change how Attackers a?pproach the bomb sites, and the Sieg?e Cup Beta will take the competition to a level further.

In Operation Twin Shells, Nokk g?ets a great buff while Dokkaebi and Solis are nerfed. Ash mains will be sad, as the R4-C is?? getting a slight nerf as well. Claymore, on the other hand, gets an unexpected buff. Let's now take a look at all the Operator and weapon changes.

All Operator balancing in Rainbow Six Siege Y9S3

Dokkaebi

• Logic Bomb

  • Initial charges: 0
  • Refill time: 45 seconds
  • Max. resources: 2

Nokk

• Hel Presence Reduction

  • The ability does not deplete automatically upon activation. Only the time glitching consumes resources.
  • Max. resources: 10 seconds
  • Time for complete refill: 120 seconds
  • Min. resources to activate: 20%

Solis

• Spec-IO Electro-Sensor

  • Base SPEC-IO Changes

    • Only the center of the Screen will detect enemy gadgets.
    • Gadgets will not show their identity until on Overclock Mode.
    • Minimum required energy to use the SPEC-IO reduced to 50% (was 100%)

  • Scan Mechanic redesigned into Overclock Mode.
  • Overclock Mode will identify every gadget in the center of the screen.
  • Overclock Mode lasts for 10s.
  • Overclock Mode has 1 charge ability at the start of the round.

    • A charge is added every 25s.
    • Max Charges per match are 3.

  • During Overclock Mode the SPEC-IO will emit a Warning Signal.

    • Only Observation Tools withing Solis detection range (12m) will see it.

All weapon balancing in R6 Y9S3

FMG-9

• Recoil on PC

  • Reduced first kick.
  • Reduced horizontal recoil.
  • The recoil will remain stable for longer during a sustained fire burst.

• Recoil on consoles

  • Reduced lateral recoil.

R4-C

• Base Stats

  • Magazine: Reduced to 25 bullets (from 30).
  • Ammo: Kept with 6 magazines. Number of bullets reduced to 151 (from 181).

All gadget balancing in Rainbow Six Siege Y9S3

Claymore

• Detection System

  • Removed delay between activation and explosion (from 0.2 seconds).

This?? change has affected the majority of Attackers such as Ace, Ash, Blackbeard, Brava, Capitão, Flores, Glaz, Grim, IQ, Jackal, Kali??, Lion, Maverick, Osa, Sens, Striker, Thatcher, Twitch, Zero, and Zofia.

Proximity Alarm

• Scoring

  • Removed the Scoring Award triggered when an enemy activates a Proximity Alarm.

This change has affected multiple Defenders such as Alibi, Castl?e, Caveira, Goyo, Mira, Rook, Oryx, Sentry, Skopós, Smoke, Solis, Tachanka, Tubar??ão, and Wamai.

The post All Operator & weapo??n changes in Rainbow S??ix Siege Y9S3 appeared first on Destructoid.

Michael B. Jordan will star

Video game adaptations are everywhere these days -- why not throw another one on the pile? We now know there's a Rainbow Six movie coming from Paramount, and it's just been announced that John Wick director Chad Stahelski is attached to the project, as covered by The Hollywood Reporter in an exclusive. Actor Michael B. Jordan is also involved, and he'll star as John Clark -- the protagonist of Tom Clancy's famous book series that inspired the games. Jordan's already taken on the role of Clark after starring in the 2021 film Without Remorse which was also based on Clancy's work.

This new movie will likely serve as a sequel to Without Remorse, as at the end of the film, Clark is planning to establish the famed multinational anti-terrorist "Rainbow" team. While the first film only took inspiration from Clancy's writing, this potential sequel will instead focus on the team that was made so popular by Ubisoft's game series: Rainbow Six. Details are sparse as of now, as the movie does not yet have a release date or plot summary, so keep in mind that it's all pretty much speculation. Even so, it's hard to imagine they'd pass on drawing inspiration fr?om the games at lea?st a little bit, especially for an action movie.

[caption id="attachment_358479" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Paramount Pictures[/caption]

Chad Stahelski is best known for his directorial debut with the John Wick movies, but he's actually been around the industry for a long time as a stuntman, having worked on films like The Matrix, Van Helsing, and Escape from L.A. Here's hoping that such a prolific figure in the action space will make unique, compelling work of the IP he's drawing on because a lot of fans are hoping to see their f??avorite series done justice on the silver screen.

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Hidden Blades at the ready...

Summer may be over, but that doesn't mean that the publishers of the planet aren't still eager to bombard us with video presentations packed full of updates on their incoming wares �This afternoon sees the turn of French studio Ubisoft, who takes to the stage for another Ubisoft Forward live stream.

Ubisoft Forward 2022 is expected to focus mostly on one of the studio's flagship franchises, Assassin's Creed, with reveals and trailers for the recently leaked Assassin's Creed Mirage and, if rumors are to be believed, further titles from the historical stealth series. In addition, Ubisoft has announced that it will be providing new updates on the super-silly adventure title Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope and the seafaring, open-world pirate epic Skull and Bones.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvV4ZBx6_bo

These are only the tip of the iceberg, as Ubisoft is currently beavering away with many other projects. These include the delayed Prince of Persia remake, the M.I.A. Beyond Good and Evil sequel, a Splinter Cell remake, the cinematic epic Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. and the as-yet-untitled Star Wars title, so it will be interesting to see what Ubisoft brings to the table over the course of the 6?0-minute stream.

Ubisoft Forward will?? kick off one hour from now, at 12:00 PT/ 15:00 ET/ 20:00 BST. A pre-show will begin in 30 minutes' time, for those of you who can't get enough Ubisoft on a Saturday aftern??oon. Of course, we will bring you all of the top headlines right here on Destructoid, but if you'd like to chat among your fellow community members in the comments, then you are, of course, most welcome.

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Free-to-Spray

Rainbow Six Siege is one of the finest shooters in the genre's history. It just is. I don't make the rules. And the tactical multiplayer title is renowned for its scalpel-precise, recon-heavy, itchy trigger finger mentality, one that sets it apart from some of the more chaotic a??nd arcade examples of the FPS genre.

Siege's method has won over millions upon millions of players, and publisher Ubisoft is now looking to bring that same intense experience to small screens everywhere, with the announcement of Rainbow Six Mobile, a literal pocket-sized edition of Rainbow Six Siege, currently in development for iOS and Android platforms. Che?ck out the reveal trailer below to see the game in? action.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTIlYH7IFfQ

As you can see, (and unfortunately hear), Rainbow Six Mobile is hoping to replicate the intense 5v5 action of its bigger brother, albeit in handheld form. Rainbow Six Mobile will feature key elements of the Siege meta, including Attacker vs. Defender gameplay, drones, operator abilities, destructible environments, booby traps, wall reinforcements, and much more besides. It's a pretty mammoth and ambitious task, and that's before you even consider transitioning Siege's twitchy, pixel-pr?ecise gameplay to touchscreen contr?ols.

Ubisoft has not offered a release window for Rainbow Six Mobile, but has noted that the game will eventually roll out as a free-to-play release. In addition, the developer has allayed concerns that the development of R6M will reduce focus on the original Rainbow Six Siege, telling the community that the original dev squad remains committed to the original version of Siege, currently in ??its first season of its seventh year.

Rainbow Six Mobile is in development for iOS and Android devices. For more details or to sign up for the pre-release beta, visit the brand new website.

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Cblogs of 3/19 to 3/25/2022

-Sam van der Meer explores some of the more iconic copy abilities in the Kirby franchise.

-Black Red Gaming is hesitant on reviewing Rainbow Six Extraction, which is a middling game ?that they enjoy too much to give a middling score.

-FTM thinks Platinum Games is still a fine developer despite the high-profile failure of Babylon's Fall.

-PhilsPhindings discusses the similarities between the soundtrack of Kid Icarus and Latin music.

-Eggs&BrewsterJr shares a list of 11 books that are worth reading.

-Sleeves writes a short story, The G??iant, for you to enjoy.

-ChronoLynxx is ba??ck with another TGIF open th?read for random community discussions.

Thanks to Lord Spencer for this week's recap! Fewer blogs this week, but the site has been a little off-color so that's understandable. Thanks to everyone who contributed nevertheless! If you wanna join the HOT TAKE party, then simply mos??ey on over to the Cblogs section and have your say.

If you have any thoughts on gaming, new or old, share them with us and you will find you??rself recapped on this here front page next week.

The post Which is your favorite of Kirby’s many escapades? appeared first on Destructoid.

I've accidentally called it 'Quarantine' like a million times

I'm at the point where some classic franchises are utterly unrecognizable. That can be a good thing...sometimes! After decades in operation you'd expect some kind of change to happen, especially if a new creative team/generation is taking over, or a new company entirely. Rainbow Six Extraction fits neatly into that mystery box.

Rainbow Six Extraction (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Released: January 20, 2022
MSRP: $59.99

This is a game where an alien threat crash lands on Earth (not unlike Spider-Man's Venom), where you're instructed by a high-tech AI to locate new information on an unknown invasive threat �it's not exactly concerned with realism. And there's pros and cons to that approach! Using the Rainbow Six name is going to ruffle some feathers, for one. I remember playing the original at launch and being completely blown away with its tactical approach. Over the years that grounded tact has waxed and waned, to mixed results. The same mixed reaction is going to happen to Extraction. I went through it myself.

Your alien/virus-fighting travels will predominately take you through New York, San Francisco, and Alaska, amid a few other nondescript locations. So the loop is ironically kind of like the old Assassin's Creed games, which consisted of a pool of objectives. In Extraction they range from luring a parasite to a location and capturing it, to "collecting specimens" via melee attacks, to the classic bombing runs just like Counter-Strike, to straight-up kill missions (which spawn an elite at the end). And, just like Assassin's Creed, there's an escort variant. There's a good chunk of objectives, and hardcore player??s can bump things up to "cautious" difficulty to add a new wrinkle (where you need to go through gateways to do extra things), or bump things up further with severe and critical settings to make things tougher.

To that end, you'll be taking one of Extraction's 18 "operators" �yes, the hero shooter schematic is back with a vengeance �into the fray. You have the medic, the guy with the hammer, the person who surveys the battlefield, and so on. All of them can take a primary or secondary weapon, as well as two sets of gear: usually a consumable grenade of some sort, and a more proactive special piece of equipment. So, this is easily going to be one of the more polarizing parts of Extraction, but with 18 archetypes to choos?e from, I was happy enough with the amount of ??playstyles available.

Of course, all of them "level up" via XP, which is something I'm more annoyed with. It's commonplace in modern shooters, but here, it's part of the rat race. Success is sometimes partially predicated on having higher-level operators with more bonuses depending on?? the difficulty setting, all of which can be stalled because of how the game works (more on the MIA system in a moment). You also need to level up to gain access to all 18 operators, which is super annoying, and there's an in-game shop for costumes (that's seemingly cosmetic-oriented so far).

Part of Extraction's hook is pressing your luck. Once you finish a zone you can "bank" your earnings or gamble and try for bigger rewards. This is, for me, the most interesting part of the game. It's a clever way to reward all sorts of different playstyles, as people can interact with Extraction casually on the "moderate" difficulty and choose to take things easy. Or you can play on "veteran," where you waste magazine ammo if you reload early and friendly fire is enabled. There's also going to be weekly events, and a few "ja??cked up" modes are already live.

The elites, called Archæans, are basically the Left 4 Dead-like minibosses and bosses. These designs are probably the most cynical aspect of Extraction. You have the thing that explodes when you get near it, complete with boils on its back. There's the swift-but-vulnerable? melee creature. There's the giant Thing-like thing that's tough. And the stealth alien �you get the picture. They're even called "Bloaters" and "Lurkers!" You can guess what those two do.

It does get more flashy, to an extent. Mutations can impact how you deal with all of them, which are extra parameters (like sludge creation after death, or thicker fog) straight out of other recent shooters. "Random changes" can be a cheap way to encourage replayability, but there's enough going on in Extraction where it does work. And when Extraction works, it works. You might need to keep going to the next zone out of sheer panic. When the game drops you in, you might be starting somewhere else where you're not quite as familiar with the layout,?? and how to get?? to the subsequent zone door or the extraction point.

If an operator dies in the level itself (and isn't revived and doesn't extract), they cover themselves in a compound that prevents death or infection, and become "MIA." Upon entering that same level, one of the missions will automatically become an MIA rescue, which requires players to extract someone from an alien tree, alongside of a micro-puzzle (where you shoot/disconnect roots as the tree tries to absorb the operator). If you succeed yo?u can bring them back to an extraction point. If you fail, you have another MIA operator.

I can see what the team was going for, especially in an attempt to add more urgency to the game and even some roguelite elements �but it's more of a pain than anything. Given that operators have to "rest" if they're damaged on top of the MIA mechanic, it becomes a weird forced timer ??that has the benefit of allowing you to see more of the cast, but also feels like another gate. It's going to be one of the more contentious parts of the game, guaranteed.

If you can get over that hump, the juice is worth the squeeze. Again, "emergent gameplay" has become such a buzzword in recent years, but I did feel that rush often with Extraction. It's such a simple idea with so many weird classic and modern moving parts whirring about all around it. If it was even more arcadey and didn't need to go the traditional and  "expected" live service/leveling busywork route, Rainbow Six Extraction would be an even stronger game.

Playing it, I can see frequent flashes of many highs of the series. Gunplay is on-point for most of the weaponry, and th??ere's a good chunk of loadouts and different approaches to go with, to encourage you to keep playing. The issue lies with the frustrat??ion of the gated unlocks and by proxy the MIA system, which doesn't feel so much like a feature as it is a hindrance, to prevent you from ranking up quicker.

So to be clear (and this was verified by Ubisoft), there is no offline mode, and there are no AI squadmates, but solo play is possible �and we tested solo as well as squads. Triggering a solo mission will even start a unique cutscene noting that the Extraction team is "authorizing" lone missions. You can tell it was made with solo in mind because of the auto-revive items, and the game also?? adjusts to each player count (one, two, or three). With squads, jacked up on a higher difficulty s?etting, it can get pretty hardcore. Teammates can die easily, and if they're MIA, that operator needs to be rescued at some point by someone.

And that's basically all Rainbow Six Extraction has up its sleeve, and some of the replay value you're going to wring from it r??elies on whether or not you have friends to pl??ay with. While it doesn't execute fully with its foundation, it does take more risks than I expected, to the point where it's going to be worth a look for some folks �but only just so.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher. You can follow Destructoid’s ongoing coverage of Ubisoft over here.]}

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Ubisoft+ is also coming to the Xbox in the future

One of the year's first big releases will be launching on Game Pass. Today, Microsoft and Ubisoft confirmed that Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction will be a day-one add?itio??n to Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass when it launches on Jan. 20.

The PvE co-op game starring operators from the Rainbow Six universe will be playable on Game Pass through console, PC, and the cloud. Though originally set to launch last year, Rainbow Six Extraction was delayed into 2022 to allow for more time to bring its cooperative stealth-shoot?er action to life.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa8Y007ptHA

As part of today's announcement, Ubisoft also confirmed that its Ubisoft+ subscription service will be coming to Xbox consoles as well. Ubisoft+ is already on PC, allowing access to a catalog of the publisher's games and cosmetic rewards for a monthly fee. No date has been set on wh??en the service will ar??rive on the console, however.

For Rainbow Six fans, there's more as well. Rainbow Six Siege, the popular PvP Rainbow Six experience, will be coming to PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on Jan. 20 as well. And if you play both Siege and Extraction, you'll unlock some epic gear to use.

It's a pretty hefty offering to start off the year for Game Pass. Alongside January's Xbox Game Pass additions, which includes both heavy-hitters like Mass Effect: Legendary Edition and memorable indies like Gorogoa, Microsoft is making a ?strong first impression for 2022.

For Ubisoft, the publisher has a number of multiplayer games in the pipeline at the moment. Rainbow Six Extraction is a pretty notable one though, building off the popularity Siege has built up over the years. Ubisoft has still been under scrutiny for its handling of reports from 2020, and a recent report described a "great exodus," as the publisher has seen some notable turnover.

With Game Pass, looks like Xbox and PC subscribers will at least have an easy way to try Extraction out and see if the sci-fi co-op take on the Siege universe is something they like. Rainbow Six Extraction will launch on both Xbox and PlayStati?on consoles, as well as PC, Google Stadia, and Amazon Luna, on Jan. 20, 2022.

This article has been updated to clarify which platforms Extraction will launch on.

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Not-so-undercover operations

A recent blog post by publisher Ubisoft appears to have leaked a street date for the frequently delayed monster zapper Rainbow Six Extraction. In a write-up on the Ubisoft blog, it was noted t??hat the title will launch January 20, 2022.

//??www.yout??ube.com/watch?v=Xvl4agETw5k&list=PLpwyzkZha0Z7PGBHltjG7c7XkamsiS1VR

The since-removed blog post was spotted by VGC, and offers the first potential street date for the sci-fi/military shooter which, (among several other Ubisoft releases), was hit with a major delay back in 2020, followed by a further delay in July of this year. Rainbow Six Extraction sees the counter-op specialists of multiplayer shooter Rainbow Six Siege form up to investigate a strange, parasitic virus that is infiltrating ??the planet, taking the form of a gooey gallery of strange monsters and beings �all of whom have a date with the business?? end of a SPAS-12.

While I'm a huge Rainbow Six Siege fan, and I really dig its roster of doorkickers, the jury is out on Extraction. Footage during Ubisoft's E3 presentation was somewhat, well, boring. I'm not yet convinced that the combo of twitchy, stealth-based gameplay and Left 4 Dead-esque monster mashing will form the same "strange bedfellows" synergy that it did in a previous Siege event, "Outbreak." Still, I'm looking forward to giving it a shot �literally �whenever it hits the?? scene.

Rainbow Six Extraction is currently in de??velopment for PlayStation, Xbox, a?nd PC platforms.

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Rolling (Rainbow) Sixes

Rainbow Six Siege players who wish to take their window-smashin', flash-bangin' action out of the digital realm and into the dining room should keep one eye on Kickstarter today. Mythic Games is finally ready to launch its crowdfunding campaign for its previously announced Rainbow Six Siege board game, which looks to recreate the tense, strategic, and explosive action of Ubisoft's tactical sh??ooter in table??top form.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQyg0wY0HYg

Mythic Games' Kickstarter campaign will go live in just an hour from now and is expected to feature a ton of new information regarding 6: Siege The Board Game and its release, along with numerous backer goals/rewards pertaining to exclusive operator miniatures and expansion sets. Various tabletop gaming websites have already managed to get their paws on an early edition of 6: Siege, and have explored the boxed components and play rules of this?? i?ntriguing project.

Check out this 6: Siege The Board Game overview video, from Geek & Sundry's Becca Scott.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9yKro9O6Xg&t=1s

As you may be aware, I'm a dedicated Siege fan, but I am most definitely out of the loop when it comes to tabletop gaming �I fell off the table some years ago �but maybe 6: Siege will be the title that reignites my interest in the scene and the many cool titles that have passed me. I'll be checking out the Kickstarter when it goes live in sixty short minutes and I'm looking forward to the reveal. I can see how the tactical world of Rainbow Six Siege would make for a brilliant board game experience but, much like the core theme of Siege itself, the key to success will lay entire?ly in the execution.

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Far Cry 6, Rainbow Six Extraction, and more

The first of what many would consider ??the "major" E3 live streams is set to kick off in 30 minutes' time, as publisher Ubisoft takes to the airwaves to show off its upcoming wares for PC, consoles, and mobile platforms. A pre-show event is already underway, with the main stream set to kick off at the top of the hour (12:00 PT / 15:00 ET / 20:00 ?BST)

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydOv_hunhjE

It's been a tumultuous 12 months for Ubisoft, despite its continued market success. In 2020, the publisher saw delays to almost all of its major releases, faced criticism over its approach to political gaming content, and was subject to serious accusations regarding the studio's workplace culture. In the coming stream, Ubisoft will no doubt be looking to deliver a more positive outlook in regards to its upcoming year, with new gameplay footage expected for Far Cry 6, the recently renamed Rainbow Six Extraction, and the newly leaked Nintendo Switch release Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope.

Away from the marketing drive, there are those wondering whether Ubisoft will take any time out from today's presentation to offer an update on both the status of �and the reaction to �its toxicity investigations. During Ubisoft's fall 2020 presentation, Yves Guillemot prefaced the stream with a video statement, in which the CEO apologized to those hurt by the company's behaviour, vowing to implement?? change in order to make Ubisoft a safer and more inclusive environment for all of its employees. As its first presentation since said allegations came to light, today's live stream provides Ubisoft to announce whether these ?words have been translated into real, tangible actions.

You can check out Ubisoft Forward in the live stream above, or over on the official Ubisoft web??site, where the stream offers multiple language subtitles, audio descriptive commentary, and American sign language options.

Ubisoft Forward 2021 recap:

• Rainbow ?Six Extraction, formerly Quarantine, is out in September with cross-play
• Rocks??mith+ adds a mobile app and workshop to its guitar-learning game
• Riders ?Republic still looks like my extreme sports jam and it’s out September 2
• Ra??inbow Six Siege gets cross-play and ??cross-progression on PC, Stadia, and Luna June 30
• Just Dance 2022 hit??s this November with 40 new songs
• Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla teases Odin and? more for 2022
• Far?? Cry 6’s season pass is getting a wild-sounding Far Cry villain DLC and a Blood ??Dragon revival
• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is c?oming from Ubisoft in 2022

The post It’s time for the Ubisoft Forward E3 2021 live stream appeared first on Destructoid.

Same game, new name

The game formerly known as Rainbow Six Quarantine is now called Rainbow Six Extraction, and a full reveal of it is on the way.

Ubisoft announced the name change alongside two new trailers: one showing some of the creepy alien monsters we'll likely be dealing with in Extraction, and another with the devs explaining the title reveal.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3m3BmvFA3c

Though this co-op shooter was originally revealed as Quarantine, the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to cause Ubisoft to rethink the name a little bit. Honestly, it's a pretty decent name change, in my opinion. Extraction gets a good visual of agents moving in, securing an objective, a?nd getting out, which seems to be the idea here.

We'll learn more about Rainbow Six Extraction soon, as Ubisoft confirmed it will get fully revealed at this week's upcoming Ubisoft Forward. That's set to air on the Ubisoft channel at 3 p.m. ET on June 12; you can keep up with all the E3 and Summer Game Fest showcases coming this week over here.

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Thunderbird is Go!

For the past few seasons, Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Siege has added multiple new weapons, gadgets, and techniques to reduce your opposition to dust — regardless of whether you're playing Defender or Attacker. To date, only Doc and Finka can be considered anything close to "healers" within Siege's fast-paced, fast?-dying universe. But that's all set to change c??ome the tactical shooter's newest season.

Operation: North Star welcomes new Defender Mina Sky, better known by her call-sign "Thunderbird". Heralding from the Indigenous Nakoda nation, Mina grew up with a deep love and reverence for Mother Earth, dedicating her early life ??to the study of both hydrology and medicine. Now a trustworthy pilot, a fearless explorer, and a master of field adaptation, Mina's brave heart and skillful application of aid under fire saved the life of Rainbow operator Saana "Nomad" El Maktoub, an act which brought Mina to attention — and eventual induction — at Team Rainbow.

Thunderbird brings with her the hi-tech Kona Healing Station, a mobile unit t??hat heals any teammates located within its fi?eld. Additionally, the Kona can get downed operators back on their feet, allowing for squad revival at a distance, when line-of-sight is too risky a proposition. The Kona must be installed by hand, so deploying the device at predictable points of conflict — such as a bomb site or chokepoints — offers a distinct advantage for the defending team. Though a powerful tool, the Kona needs to cool down between each wave of healing, and can be readily destroyed by gunfire or explosions.

A 1-Armor, 3-Speed operator, Thunde??rbird can quickly move into position to set her Kona Station during prep phase, before transitioning to fast and efficient field work once the lead starts spraying. Thunderbird can be equipped with a SPEAR .308 AR or a SPAS-15 shotgun, with the Bearing 9 automatic pistol and the tried-and-tested Q-929 handgun as her secondary options.

Alongside the arrival of Thunderbird, Operation: North Star will see another classic map rework. This time around, it's the turn of Brazil-based war zone "Favela". One of the largest and most labyrinthine of Rainbow Six Siege's maps, Favela has now been redesigned in order to create stricter directional paths and wider open areas. The de??velopers hope that the design will cause less geographical confusion and will prevent player??s from getting lost.

While the map's interiors have received a major overhaul, its exterior are almost unrecognizable — at least from an aesthetic standpoint. Now set in the late-evening, Favela is spotlit with dramatic and immersive new lighting and framed with an overhead ??fireworks display... not to be confused with the fireworks you and your squad are letting off within the town's walls.

Over on the Rainbow Six Siege test servers, the dev team will be rolling out some of its previously teased new mechanics. These include ??the new health system, which will denote both health and armor as a single number. Also joining the test server is the ability for D.O.A. Defenders to retain access to their field gadgets — for example Maestro's Evil Eye, or Echo's?? annoying Yokai Drone. This is a concerted effort to increase players' interactivity options once left full o' holes and out for the count. Should the new mechanics prove successful, they will be added to the main game at a later date.

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Mira, in the Garage, with the ITA12L

You might remember, back in 2020, we reported that Mythic Games was in the early stages of devising a tabletop version of Ubisoft's intense multiplayer shooter, Rainbow Six Siege. Well, it seems that the game maker is getting set to launch a crowdfunding campaign, which will hit Kickstarter later this summer.

Titled 6: Siege - The Board Game, the finished product will see two players battle?? it out in typical twitchy Siege fashion, seemingly picking their way through a ??small-scale map as one of a selection of the game's huge roster of operators �stylized as cool miniature playing pieces.

Details are still thin on the ground, but Mythic has released the first images of the playing board, featuring?? a top-down view of the playfield, space-based movement, and 3D models for cover and door barricades. Just from this single image, I'm really int??rigued as to how the final game plays, particularly as each player moves their team into strategically chosen positions. Given that Siege is all about surveying the scene and out-thinking the opponent, it seems a well-suited brand for tabletop gaming.

You can sign up to receive notifications when the Kickstarter campaign is live, but don't fret, as we'll be sure to giv?e you a full recon report once Mythic is ready to spill all of the? vital deets.

//twitter.com/MythicG??amesMG/status/1391799618661388291???s=20

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It's the end of the world as we know it...

It's tough being a member of melodramatic counter-terrorist strike team Rainbow. One moment your saving hostages and Fuzing your own teammates, the next you are literally the last hope for the continued survival of all mankind. At least that's what's Rainbow Six Siege fans? are being led to believe in the multiplayer? shooter's brand new event: Apocalypse.

Kicking off today and running through May 18, Apocalypse is a limited-time event that sees a handful of Team Rainbow's operators tasked with protecting the last bastion of life after some dreadful, ungodly war. The new mode sees a team of Defenders — comprised of Maestro, Melusi, Rook??, Smoke, and Valkyrie — protecting Earth's last living plant from a team of Attackers, consisting of Fuze, Gridlock, Maverick, Nomad, and Twitch.

What this essentially boils down to is a scaled-down variant of the "Bomb" game mode, with the intriguing difference that Defenders can transport the plant (or "bomb") around the map, making it harder for Attackers to pinpoint its whereabouts. To even up the odds, Attackers have access to room scanners, offering them a heads up as to whether a Defender is in an adjacent room (but not telling them exactly where in said room they are located).

In keeping with the Apocalyptic theme, the new mode takes place of the much-maligned Outback map, which looked like Judgement Day before it got its apocalyptic overall. Of course, all of the participating operators receive delightfully Mad Max-style skins, which are available to purchase in Rainbow Six Siege's Alpha Packs. The very coming of the Four Horsemen might be on the horizon, but there's always room for Loot Boxes. I must say that Melusi in particular looks very badass, like she's just wandered in from Apex Legends.

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Funniest shit I've ever seen

Recently I've been lamenting that Rainbow Six: Siege was a turning point in the way it presents itself. Gone are the days of being married to the stuffy spec-ops tactical gru?ffness ae??sthetic, and here to stay was a new age of goofy costumes and animations. For the most part, I've been on board with all they've done. I have been known to chase drones dressed as a giant slice of pizza so I'm not above some silliness. Today's news might be a bridge too far though.

Starting tomorrow, Siege players will be able to purchase skins based on Adult Swim's runaway cartoon success Rick and Morty. Sledge is getting a skin based on the Gromflomites, the antagonist to the titular Rick. Rick won't be snubbed though, because fellow SAS a??gent Smoke is getting a Pickle Ri?ck costume. That's right kids, time to meme it up in voice chat about how you turned yourself into a pickle.

It's not the absolute worst thing that could happen, but that doesn't mea??n I have to like it. Sure it's harmless and it ultimately doesn't matter to me because I sure as hell won't be buying it, but...why? Why this many years after the meme started do you spend the capital to get the licensing and wh??atnot? Answers for the ether I suppose.

Gun charms will also be available with both a Pickle ??Rick and commando Rick variant. For those inclined to buy the costumes or charms, they will be avail??able starting tomorrow, April 15.

Give Buck back his frags.

Rainbow Six Siege [Twitter]

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Ready to raid the Spencer Mansion

[Update: Zofia's Resident Evil-inspired Elite set is now available for purchase in Rainbow Six Siege. The DLC includes a classic Jill Valentine S.T.A.R.S. uniform, a chibi charm, weapon skins, head gear, and animated MVP pose. You can check out the skin on the official Siege Twitter.]

Capcom's Resident Evil is certainly making the most of its 25th anniversary celebrations. Not only is the survival horror series getting a brand new title in the form of Resident Evil Village, but it is also making its presence felt in other franchises, such as Ubisoft's The Division 2, and soon in its flagship tactical shooter Rainbow Six Siege.

As part of its flurry of new Year 6 content, GROM Attacker Zofia Bosak will be paying tribute to Resident Evil's top-tier hero, Jill Valentine. Zofia's new Elite skin will reflect Ms. Valentine's c??lassic look from her 1996 debut, complete with beret, fing??er-less gloves, and hefty shoulder pads. Given that Zofia is already handy with a grenade launcher, it's a pretty snug fit. The kit will also include a matching charm, weapon skin, and win-pose.

This isn't the first time a member of Team Rainbow got their cosplay on. One year ago, squad leader Ash was gifted with the getup of none other than the Tomb Raider herself, Lara Croft. It's certainly a surprise to see these guest characters come charging round the corner when playing online, but they're very welcome in Rainbow Six's evolving, comic-book style universe.

The Resident Evil Jill Valentine Elite will arrive in-game later in 2021. A further Resident Evil Elite skin will arrive later in Year 6.

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Work has already begun on brand new IP

There one more gaming studio in Montreal this morning, as Amazon Games has announced the founding of Amazon Games Montreal, which will look to design and develop original AAA titles?. The new studio joins Amazon's previously established developers in San Diego, Seattle, and Orange County.

The founding members of Amazon Games Montreal include head of production Luc Bouchard, head of product Alexandre Remy, creative director Xavier Marquis, and content director Romain Rimokh, all of whom were key members in the development of Ubisoft's hugely popular multiplayer shooter Rainbow Six Siege. While Amazon Games Montreal is currently hiring, the core team has already begun work on?? a brand ?new multiplayer IP.

"Building upon 8 years of experience with Siege, we are excited to start with a blank page and the creative freedom to creat?e a completely unique experience in the multiplayer space," said Marquis in a press release. "From our first discussion, we felt a true connection wit??h the people at Amazon Games, their approach to gaming and the sheer amount of knowledge, expertise and technology available there. It is quite humbling and we couldn’t be more excited to start a studio with them."

Amazon Games also spoke of its excitement regarding the new studio. "Montreal’s rich vein of creative talent will be a valuable asset as we continue building our develop??ment and publishing teams," said Amazon Games VP Christophe Hartmann. "The highly skilled and experienced team at our new Montreal studio shares our commitment to creating best-in-class online games, and brings with them a wealth of knowledge and passion for building deep, community-focused multiplayer experiences. I look forward to watching them invent on behalf of customers as they grow their team and develop their first project."

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Godspeed, little Ratero drone

Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Siege has lit the fuse on its sixth year of content, with its newest season, Operation Crimson Heist, now live on PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. The event sees the arrival of a brand new op??erator, as well as the addition of several new weapons and features in the immensely popular tactical multiplayer shooter.

Operation Crimson Heist welcomes Argentinian inventor Santiago "Flores" Lucero to the fold as a new attacker, bringing with him charm, wit, and a collection of highly explosive remote control drones - the "Ratero." Flores will be using all of his cunning and guile, earned during his dubious former life cat-burglar, to help his squad-mates with infiltration, recon, and the disturbance of even the most fortified locations. You can read more about this debonair and highly intelligent fellow in our previous report.

Alongside the coming of Flores, Operation Crimson Heist also sees a full rework of the Middle-Eastern map, "Border." Both the first and second floors of the locale - one of the larger maps in Siege - have been reworked, with more exterior access points for Attackers. Within its walls, Border has had some of?? its furniture remove?d to improve line-of-sight while exterior noise from helicopters and megaphones will reduce in volume once the Action Phase begins.

Speaking of access, the new season offers a new secondary weapo?n to a selection of Operators. The GONNE-6 breaching tool offers a single-shot explosive round, capable of destroying obstacles and light barricades with ease, but at the cost of an Operator's side-arm, which is a risky trade-off. The GONNE-6 isn't close to being as powerful and Ash's M120 CREM or Zofia's KS79 LIFELINE, but does offer a single, safe-distance breach in a number of situations.

Finally, Rainbow Six Siege's in-depth Replay feature is now live in-game, allowing players the opportunity?? to watch back their previous match from a multitude of camera angles. This anticipated feature is perfect for reliving your victories and analyzing your losses, helping lower-ranking teams perfect their strategies while offering content creators a new way to bag footage for clips, trailers, and highlight reels.

For more information on Operation Crimson Heist, the upcoming Resident Evil crossover, the team's work with Ikumi Nakamura, and Year Six of Rainbow Six Siege as a whole, be sure to ??check out our previo?us reports. Stay frosty, folks.

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Like Cluedo, but with grenade launchers

As part of today's ongoing Rainbow Six Siege festivities, Ubisoft announced that ?it is collaborating with Mythic Games to produce a tabletop edition of the multiplayer shooter.

Playing pieces were first teased in an awesome new cinematic "The Playbook," with the board being revealed a little later in today's presentation. This is just what I need to fall back in l??ove with playing a game once, losing a few pieces?, and then never playing it again. I can't wait to have my own dinky Dokkabei.

Rainbow Six Siege: The Board Game launches Summer 2021.

One of the highlights of this year for me is the collaboration we had with with @MythicGamesMG and @CarlosGmezQuin1
It’s been ages since we dreamed of having the Siege experience on tabletop !!!
You are going to LOVE IT !!! pic.twitter.com/G6DB7C6BJn

— Leroy Athanassoff (@fromL) February 21, 2021

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Tactical shooter bringing meta-changing new mechanics

With the coming of a brand new generation of gaming, many popular franchises are, naturally, gearing up for the launch of new sequels. Franchises such as Overwatch, Resident Evil, Diablo, Call of Duty, and many other blockbuster series ??are currently preparing fresh new entries ??for their respective brands, embracing the power of modern tech by going back to the drawing board, figuratively speaking.

Eschewing this "next-gen restart" is tactical shooter Rainbow Six Siege. As declared back in 2020, the team behind Ubisoft's mega-popular multiplayer title has made the decision not to develop a "Rainbow Six Siege 2" - instead c??ho?osing to continue evolving the title from its present state.

The first step toward this goal was taken back in December 2020, when Siege made the leap onto new platforms PS5 and Xbox ?Series X. The overhaul is set to continue throughout 2021 and beyond, via the application of a catalog of technical tweaks, gameplay overhauls, content drops, operator reworks, and even a new coat of pai?nt.

Leading the charge is Rainbow Six Siege's marketing, which will be getting its first real facelift since the game's (admittedly rocky) launch back in 2017. The key art for Siege will be replaced, featuring brighter and more dynamic imagery celebrating the mammoth and varied roster of almost 60 operators built over the past five years. The Rainbow Six Siege logo itself has also been tweaked, giving it? a sharper edge for its journey into the new generation.

These new optics are a continued effort to move away from the "Counter-Terrorist" source of the Rainbow Six franchise, transforming the world and its characters into a less po-faced, less politicized, and more "comic-book" world - a Rainbow Six Siege cinematic universe, if you will. This mentality has been borne out in the past year through an emphasis on wilder technology, more inclusive characters, deeper lore and backstory, and the embracing of otherworldly events. While it's understandable that some series veterans might balk at this step away from the Rainbow Six of old, I'm all for it, given how it has allowed t?he developers to open the creative envelope, s??uch as in the excellent cinematic above.

But what about the gameplay itself? After all, flashy graphics mean nothing if nobody wants to play, and five years is a long time to keep any audience engaged, particularly in this era of gaming. Over the coming year, the Rainbow Six development team has num?erous ideas and psychologies that it wishes to ? apply to its twitchy, high-intensity shooter. And while details are still a little slim, has offered some teases of these exciting plans.

First and foremost, Rainbow Six Siege is going to gently lean more toward the side of the Attacker. This far into the title's lifespan, it's still believed that the meta heavily favors the defending team, and the developers wish to redress that balance over the coming months. One of the biggest changes, previously hinted at during the 2020 Six Invitational event, will be a new option allowing Attackers to re-pick their operator and loadout before the Action Phase starts. So a team can scope out the site with their drones and - provided they can beat the clock - will have to option to switch out their chosen Operator. This is undeniably a huge g??ame-changer, and will test the adaptability of players on both sides of the barricade.

A second developer point-of-focus is "post-death" activity. Currently, Attackers K.I.A. are able to flick between any remaining security cameras, pingi?ng enemies from beyond the grave for their fellow team-mates. But soon, they'll be able to go one better, as eliminated Attackers will be allowed to regain full control of their Recon Drone (provided it still exists within the map), continuing to provide intel to their less-dead brethren. Again, this is a seemingly minor tweak that will make a huge difference to gameplay, making drones far more of a threat to Defenders, while offering eliminated players more interactivity in the afterlife.

Of course, I personally will never see ?this feature in action, becaus??e I don't get killed.

As Year Six continues, Rainbow Six Siege will venture into all-new territories for its incoming Operators and/or locations, while re?working existing maps and t?eam members in continued efforts to re-balance the overall online multiplayer and esports experience.

Season 1 brings Argentinian Operator Flores and a rework of "Border." Season 2 will bring an Operator from the Nakoda Nation and a rework of "Favela." Season 3 will see the arrival of a Croatian Operator, as well as a rework of "multiple maps"; while Season 4 will round out 2021 with an Irish Op?erator and a rework of the Australian locale, "Outback." Additionally, players can expect various new gadgets, weapons, and Operator reworks, with Mira, Fuze, Finka, and Maestro all in line for buffs and/or nerfs.

The developer will continue to work on Siege's core gameplay to provide new features and minor tweaks with each passing month - small changes intent on pushing toward an optimized overall experience. One example wil?l see the player's health counter raised to include the Operator's armor status. So a 3 Armor Operator will have a numerically higher health counter than a 1 Armor Operator, for example.

And speaking of optimization. Ubisoft is fully aware that Rainbow Six Siege has a ridiculously large footprint in regards to PC and console HDD/SSD space, and as such will be taking steps this year to significantly reduce the overall size of Rainbow Six Siege - as well as the size of its regular seasonal downloads -?? on all platforms.

Finally, as of Operation Crimson Heist, Rainbow Six Siege will now offer each new Operator as the first unlock on its Premium Tier Battle Pass. Players who purchase the pass will more or less receive instant access to the respective season's new doorkicker, two weeks before they are made publicly available on the Rainbow Six Siege store. De?spite this, the Premium Pass will not increase in price.

Rainbow Six Siege is available now on PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Operation Crimson Heist la?unches on all platforms March 16.

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The Evil Within's horror queen lends her talents

Designer and artist Ikumi Nakamura - known for her work on Shinji Mikami's The Evil Within as well as her memorable E3 2019 appearance - has been working with the Rainbow Six Siege dev??elopers to design a set of custom skins for several Team Rainbow operators.

Nakamura hand-picked eight doorkickers from the tactical shooter's near 60-strong roster, each of which will? be blessed with her unique?, mythical, horror-heavy aesthetic. While the full list of operators featured is yet to be revealed, a new video shows that Korean defender Dokkaebei and Japan's Echo and Hibana are among those set to receive a new Nakamura design. The first skins will arrive on March 2.

The Ikumi Nakamura collaboration was announced today as part of a huge showcase of information pertaining to Rainbow Six Siege's sixth year of content. Also revealed this weekend were details related to new season Operation Crimson Heist, a Resident Evil crossover, and plans to evolve the popular shooter's ??gameplay mechanics, ensuring Rainbow Six Siege remains lo??cked 'n' loaded as it enters a w??hole new generation of gaming.

Rainbow Six Siege Operation Crimson Heist launches March 16.

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Robs from the rich, blows up the door

Ubisoft has released a slew of information today pertaining to the sixth year of its scalpel-precise multiplayer shooter Rainbow Six Siege. As popular today as it ever was, Siege intends to kick off the new generation of gaming with a bang, offering a brand face??lift, new in-game mechanics, core gameplay changes, and another year of new operators, gadgets, and map revisions. Year Six kicks off in March 16 with its first season:?? Operation Crimson Heist.

The new season brings with it a new Attacker, Santiago Lucero, better known by his call-sign "Flores". Raised in Buenos Aires, Lucero found his calling early in life as a master thief and cat-burglar, a talent which fast found him a role within Argentina's organized crime scene. However, upon seeing the damage and misery the syndicate was bringing to the lower classes, Lucero turned his back on h?is bosses, seeking personal redemption by only plying his nocturnal trade on the powerful and corrupt.

N??aturally, this change of heart did not go down well with his former employers, and eventually Lucero was forced to flee to the Unite??d States. Intrigued by Lucero's unmatched talent for breaking-and-entering, as well his eye for improvisation and invention, Rainbow Captain Ash reached out to the fugitive, bringing him into Rainbow's ranks as part of a protection bargain.

Described as "Crafty. Cunning. Charming," Santiago works with Rainbow in?? its operations, lending the squad his skill and know-how whether out in the field and in the laboratory. The former mobster hasn't lost sight of his past misdeeds, but works tirelessly to make up for the harm he previously caused others. Now residing in Los Angeles with his husband - a marriage which he claims is "on another level" - Santiago brings much-needed conscience and camaraderie to Rainbow and its typically stoic nature.

A 2 Armor 2 Speed operator, Flores' inventiveness is utilized in battle in the form of the RCE-RA?TERO drone, a remote control device equipped with a powerful explosive. Once wound and deployed, the Ratero operates much like a typical Recon Drone. However, the Ratero cannot stop nor reverse, barreling ever-forward upon release much like a clockwork toy. The Ratero is equipped with an explosive capable of taking down obstacles or hapless Defenders, but the explosive takes three seconds to prime, giving Defenders ample opportunity to get out of Dodge before b?aby goes boom.

Additionally, the Ratero can anchor itself to any vertical surface before detonation, allowing Flores to create holes, open lines of sight, or destroy barricades and shields. Much like the Recon Drone??????????????????????????, the Ratero can be jammed or shot, though the device becomes bulletproof once the fuse is active. Equipped with three Ratero drones, Flores will be an excellent choice for opening pathways, eliminating obstacles, and causing chaos for dug-in Defenders. Flores is primed to become a nightmare for even the most fortified encampments.

It wouldn't be a new season without a map rework, and Operation Crimson Heist is no exception. The new event sees ?a facelift applied to Middle-Eastern locale, "Border." Both the first and the second floor have been re-evaluated and suitably tweaked, with 2F seeing the most changes. Archives has now been extended into Office, while a new exterior stairc??ase offers access to the second floor balcony at the building's rear.

Several items of furniture have been removed from smaller rooms, creating less visual clutter in locations such as Office. The contrast has been raised across the entire map for clarity, while the volume from overhead helicopters and other exterior noise - such as the megaphone announcements w?ill now severely decrease once the Action Phase begins.

Perhaps one of the most notable additions in Operation Crimson Heist is the arrival of a new secondary weapon. The GONNE-6 is a new single-shot breaching tool capable of ??firing a small but ?highly explosive projectile. The GONNE-6 can be used to create small holes, obliterate barricades, and destroy obstacles, but only includes a single round of ammo, and will cost its carrier their secondary weapon, which is a pricey trade-off. The GONNE-6 isn't nearly as powerful and Ash's M120 CREM or Zofia's KS79 LIFELINE, and isn't deadly enough to outright kill a Defender, but it is a possible option for those who might need a little extra punch in their assault.

In terms of Operator Reworks, only Mozzie is receiving a tweak. The loud-mouth Defender's PEST device will now offer earlier warning as to ?its location, given Attacker drones more opportunity to escape the robo-spiders. As Year Six continues, we can expect reworks for operators Mira, Maestro, Fuze, and Finka, though what for?m these reworks will take was not disclosed.

Operation Crimson Heist will see Rainbow Six Siege launch a beta version of its new Replay option. Initially available only on PC, the hugely-anticipated feature will allow players to watch back recent matches, complete with timeline d??rag, round skips, and multiple camera selections - perfect for capturing ??past glories, re-evaluating disaster runs, or simply chopping out clips for your five-star highlight reel.

Finally, February 22 will see the launch of a new Elite package for Kali. Nighthaven's resident sniper and chief will be afforde??d a super sleek bodysuit and headset known as the "Masterframe Prototype 1." Form-fitting, styled in jet-black, and packed to the gills with tech, the suit is perfect for those long nights lying in shadow, waiting out ?? the hours until her mark's date with oblivion.

Rainbow Six Siege Operation Crimson Heist launches March 16.

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Better double-check those barricades

It looks like tactical shooter Rainbow Six Siege is gearing up for its new season of bullet-pumpin' mayhem. Ubisoft released a teaser image for Operation Crimson Heist, whi??ch is expected to bring a brand new operator, a map rework, and several other new additions to the challenging multiplayer t?ile.

"Getting the job done can sometimes require a more creative approach", reads the teaser, complete with creepy image of what appears to be a fella in a flat cap, a big-collared coat, and a peering pair of red spectacles. On first glance, I get a sort of "French Resistance Spy" feel from this silhouette, not dissimilar to the hero of Pandemic Studios' 2009 title The Saboteur. Has a time-traveling hipster j?oined Team Rainbow? We'll find out soon enough.

As Rainbow Six Siege pushes into 2021, the team has begun its battle plan of only releasing one operator per season, while dedicating more time on the technical elements of Siege - from tweaking its mechanics, stomping out bugs, and on-boarding the next-gen platforms, to the addition of new gadgets, weapons, and game modes and features. Still supported by millions of players, and with a spin-off title in the works - Siege's future looks brighter than a flashbang.

Getting the job done can sometimes require a more creative approach. pic.twitter.com/AjrU2TEJnB

— Rainbow Six Siege (@Rainbow6Game) February 16, 2021

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Somebody get Ela a couple of paracetamol

Last week, we reported how Ubisoft is re-evaluating its upcoming sci-fi shooter Rainbow Six Quarantine - suggesting the title might be in line for a rename due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Yesterday, a new image (discovered by MP1ST) appeared onlin??e for something called "Rainbow Six Parasite," with many fans, understandably, assuming that this is the new moniker for the bio-hazardous release.

Well, it seems that's a half-truth. In a statement to VGC, Ubisoft has confirmed that the image - which features Rainbow operator Ela getting friendly with a gooey creature ala Venom - is an official image from the new game, but that the "Parasite" subtitle is a placeholder term used by developers internally, with the publisher yet to officially confirm the new title of Rainbow Six Quarantine, if any.

Originally revealed during E3 2019, things have been a mite quiet on the Rainbow Six Quarantine front since, as we are yet to see a new trailer or any gameplay footage. In an investor call held last week, Ubisoft CFO Frédérick Duguet confirmed that the publisher is confident it will have the new title completed and good to go later in 2021, alongside the similarly delayed open-world sequel Far Cry 6.

Rainbow Six ??Quarantine may ha??ve been renamed Rainbow Six Parasite [VGC]

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Rainbow Six prepares for parasite poppin' action

In 2020, Ubisoft announced that it would be delaying practically its entire slate of upcoming releases, pushing back Watch Dogs: Legion, Immortals: Fenix Rising, and the newest entry in the Rainbow Six series, Quarantine. While t?he two former titles have long since hit the market, Team Rainbow is yet to see a second trailer, let alone any gameplay footage.

But speaking in an earnings conference call this week, Ubisoft CFO Frédérick Duguet confirmed that the publisher is confident that it will have Rainbow Six Quarantine on the market by the end of September 2021, where it will join the similarly delayed Far Cry 6?? as two of Ubisof??t's major releases for the 2021 Holiday season.

Interestingly, it seems that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Rainbow Six Quarantine in other ways, aside from its release schedule. As reported by VGC, Ubisoft is currently re-evaluating the co-op shooter in respect to the current global climate. ?So when Ela and Co. finally take to Area 51 for their conspiracy-fueled, alien bustin' action, the new game might not  actually carry the "Quaranti??ne" tag at all.

Rainbow Six Quarantine is a co-op shooter set a few years into the future, and will see some of Rainbow's best operators squad up to investigate a strange anomaly of unknown origin. Quarantine represents the evolution of Rainbow Six as a franchise, something which the development team has focused on for some time - an overall move away from the politically themed counter-terrorist origins of Tom Clancy and into a wider, character-driven, more comic-book oriented universe. This has helped the dev team open the creative envelope and, as a long-time Rainbow Six fan, I'm absolutely all for it.

R?ainbow Six Quarantine is still coming in 2021 - but it might be renamed [VGC]

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Give Buck his frags

Ever since Ubisoft announced that there would only be one operator released per season of Rainbow Six Siege, the team has been diligently rewor?king and re-balancing some of the more requested changes to the aging tactical shooter. Some like the Chalet rework have been good, while others have been a bit of a mystery. The Year 5 Season 4.3 patch rework falls in the latter category, albeit with some positives.

First and foremost, the biggest change (and possibly the most controversial) is the removal of Zofia's Withstand ability. Previously Zofia could get up on her own after being downed without the assistance of any other teammates – an ability unique to her without using any gadgets. This ability was at the center of heated debate over the past week after it was utilized in a pro EU match in the lead-up to the Six Invitational. No word on whether the controversy in the eSports realm was the catalyst for this removal, but the tim??ing is rather ??suspect.

The most personal change for me is the fact that Buck continues to be made into something he isn't with the removal of his claymore, instead getting one of the new utility hard breaches. The patch notes state that the team wanted to lean into his "master of destruction" role and give him a hard breach. To that, I say, "go to hell." No one is going to use him for hard breach; Buck's strengths lie in his ability to play the vertical and that means being alone on a non-objective floor. The claymores were integral for his safety. This is on top of? him losing his frags. Please Ubisoft, tell me how Buck wro?nged you.

Another personal attack towards me from Ubisoft this patch was the complete rework of how Kali's gun does damage. Instead of just downing everyone with one shot to the limbs, what happens to you now will be determined by what your character's speed is. One-speeds get injured from a limb shot, two-speeds get downed, and well three-speeds just straight up die. I for one can't wait for more CS:GO dropouts to sit and pick ?through the entire match.

So what about that positive I mentioned? Ahem.

🦀🦀🦀Pre-reinforced roof hatches are dead.🦀🦀🦀

When the ide??a was floated that roof hatches were going to be automatically reinforced at the start of the match, the collective reaction among everyone ??I talked to was "wtf is Ubisoft thinking?" Thankfully the idea died in the test server as it would have wrecked team balance with everyone that could bring a hard breach needing to bring one. Dodged a bullet with this one, y'all.

Other changes are a general nerf to Ash's ability wherein her breaching charge only damages out to 2m, down from 3.5m. The team also sped up the utility breaching charge from nine seconds to seven seconds which annoys me as a Kaid user but I can't complain, I guess. For those wanting to see how bad the patch is in its totality, the full patch notes can be viewed here.

Give Buck his frags back.

Rainbow Six siege Y5S4.3 Designer's Notes [Ubisoft]

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DOORS BARRICADED!

Ubisoft has taken steps to make sure that unwanted doorkickers cannot come abseiling into your Rainbow Six Siege private lobbies. A game known for its fair share of troublemakers, Siege PC player had recently ?found strangers brute-forcing their way into private teams and then simply refusing to leave.

The hotfix, which is now live on PC, should ensure a tighter infrastructure in lobbies going forward, ensuring that only players who have at least one friend in the squad are able to enter. This will, for example, all??ow a friend to invite you into a private lobby that they're already a member of, but will prevent players from simply waltzing through the door like the party just started... "Yeah, Mike invited me, you know Mike... Mike". No date was offered for a similar fix for console platforms, which also suffer from the same issue.

Rainbow Six Siege, which is now available on new platforms PS5 and Xbox Series?? X, will continue to implement fixes, balance tweaks, map reworks, and add extra gadgets and weapons across 2021. For the foreseeable future, Siege will only be receiving one extra operator per season, in order to better focus the development team's time on improving the core game. Given t??he huge roster of Attackers and Defenders already available, this is the best plan of action.

Rainbow Six Siege PC hotfix m??eans you can only play with a friend in your ??squad [Eurogamer]

To fix an exploit where players could join l??obbies uninvited, we have released a hotfix that will require PC players to have at least one friend already in the squad.

Thank you for all your patience!

— Rainbow Six Siege (@Rainbow6Game) January 8, 2021

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