Rainbow Six Siege X: The “new era” of one of the best shooters is actually something completely different

Ubisoft has used big words to promote the quasi-sequel to its popular tactical shooter. Now we know what’s really in it.

You’d think the X in Rainbow Six: Siege X stands for the upcoming tenth anniversary. But it has so much more meaning:

• X-times fans have wished for a new Siege with a new engine and fresh animations
• X-mal wurden versprochene Reworks und andere Inhalte verschoben
• X-mal hat Ubisoft mit Neuerungen daneben gegriffen und die Community enttäuscht zurückgelassen

Nevertheless, the number of players is holding up well, Siege is and remains unique in its niche. But now Ubisoft wants to prove that they believe in their tactical shooter. A should be initiated with X. But what is said and what comes, as we all know, are completely different things. Let’s take a step-by-step look at all the new features.

A new game mode

Dual Front is a completely new game mode that makes a few changes without diluting the classic Siege formula. Instead of the usual 5-on-5 squads, you’ll play 6v6, where both Attacker and Defender Operators can play on the same team. You’ll have to attack and defend at the same time.

Dual Front has its own map that is only suitable for this game mode. You spawn in the headquarters and then have the choice of advancing into either the left or right building. You have to defend the first two areas and attack the rear two. In other words, in these areas, Victory becomes a lane shooter.

A new game mode can bring a breath of fresh air and it seems like they have been able to maintain the unique Siege gameplay. However, there are two points that bother me in particular:

• One too many or too few: If I want to play the new mode with my normal squad of five players, I’m missing one – so I have to play with an unknown, which really makes a difference in Siege. If I get another friend to join me, we can’t play the other game modes together. This is bound to cause frustration.

• A single map?The game mode can be fun, but playing on the same map over and over again gets boring really quickly. There are supposed to be small changes made to this map for upcoming seasons, but I doubt that this will keep the mode interesting in the long run.

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Improved Maps

After so much time, it is only logical that the graphics have aged a bit – a refresh is in order! And that’s what you get: more details are placed on the surfaces and light and shadow behave differently.

The latter is more important than you might think, because now not only the objects in the house, but also the players themselves cast a shadow. So now you have to take Lucky Luke as your role model and shoot faster than your shadow… or at least before the shadow betrays your position to your opponent.

The maps don’t just look better, they are also supposed to spice up the gameplay a bit. To do this, there are now destructible objects that can change the course of a match:

• The fire extinguisher leaves dense smoke when shot. It also confuses nearby players, similar to an Ela mine or Echo drone.

• A gas pipe spits fire when destroyed. Over time, the flame becomes more bluish and thus causes more damage, until the pipe ultimately explodes, leaving a sea of flames on the ground, similar to Goyo’s canister or Capitao’s crossbow bolt.

• The motion detectors, which have already betrayed opponents on the bench, for example, can now be silenced by force of arms. You can also just smash them.

These are definitely welcome innovations. The destructible objects offer new tactical possibilities, the shadow is another component to be aware of and who can say no to a small graphic improvement?

Nevertheless, there is reason for disappointment for me here too: when Siege X is launched, only five maps will have the graphics upgrade. Clubhouse, Chalet, Bank, Kafe and Border. At least the destructible objects can be found on all maps.

With a new era, I actually expect all 24 maps to get the refresh right away. It seems a bit half-baked. And when you consider when further map improvements are supposed to follow, it looks a bit meager (again). But I’ll get to that in more detail, I promise!

More gameplay additions

Fortunately, that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few improvements that apply to every map. If you’re hanging from the house facade using a grapple, you can now not only sneak slowly left and right, but also run along the wall. And what’s even more important: you can now finally go around the corner instead of awkwardly rappelling up and down.

In addition, the audio design has been extensively revised. Now, shots and the like are really duller on the other side of a wall and not just quieter. Also, you not only hear the direction from which the trigger was pulled, but the bullet also makes a sound when it hits something.

The sound is now much more realistic and the direction can be located much more easily. This may not sound like much (hehe), but it can make a huge difference and has certainly convinced me. It’s not the update I expected or wanted, but it’s more than welcome.

There are also some other minor changes, here in quick succession:

• Communication Wheel: To improve communication in the team even without a microphone, there are now pre-made short messages.
• Bannphase: To get the action started faster, the teams now banish the operators in Ranked at the same time.
• Weapon Inspection: So that you can take a closer look at your fancy skins, you can now rotate the weapons in your hand to examine them from every angle.
• New help for beginners: Those who start with Siege for the first time will now be guided a little more carefully so that they don’t immediately feel frustrated. Before you can play Ranked, you have to prove yourself against bots and in Unranked mode. In addition, further help is provided.
• New menu:The main menu has been cleaned up a bit, there is a new e-sports tab and the Battle Pass is more organized.

New pricing model

Currently, Rainbow Six: Siege costs 20 euros. If you want to have all the operators right from the start, you have to shell out a whopping 90 euros. That’s about to change, because Siege X will be free… at least to some extent.

What’s free:

• 26 Operator
• The game modes Unranked, Casual and Dual Front
• A few skins

What you have to pay for:

• All other currently 73 operators
• The game modes Ranked and Siege Cup

If you already own the game, you don’t have to pay extra. You’ll also keep all your skins, don’t worry. Of course, Ubisoft doesn’t just want to attract newcomers, but also give something back to loyal fans after all these years: a small badge with the year you first played Siege.

The fact that the pricing model is being revised is of course great. Beginners who don’t want to spend 90 euros right away will always be a little behind. This has now been fixed, at least to some extent.

Nevertheless, in my opinion it is disappointing that Ubisoft apparently doesn’t dare to go all the way with Free2Play and only profit from skins. Valorant, Apex Legends, Fortnite or Marvel Rivals show that this can work quite well.

What’s next?

Rainbow Six Siege X is scheduled to release on June 10, 2025. A season in Siege runs for an average of just under three months, followed by a batch of fresh content. This has become smaller and smaller over the years, so Siege X could have used a new boost. But you know the saying about the broken chain.

Pro Season should only be a new operator or a rework of an operator, as well as three of the improved maps, an arcade mode and two events. In addition, a new map and a map rework are to take place once a year from Year 11 onwards. Just to avoid any confusion: A map rework drastically changes the core of the map, while the improved maps mainly make a graphical difference in addition to fire extinguishers and the like.

This is much more restrained than some of the shooter competition approaches. Marvel Rivals, for example, wants to release two heroes and one map per season. The first season even brought players four heroes. Sure, Rivals has also just been released and wants to prove itself right away. In the past, Siege also released two heroes per season.

For a significant new beginning, Siege X could have also pushed the content tube, but instead it’s probably just flickering on the back burner.

The editorial team’s conclusion

Sometimes, good ideas just aren’t enough. And Siege X is full of good ideas! A new game mode brings some variety, the new audio design is extremely promising, and the other changes are useful additions to the tactical shooter. But I doubt that’s enough.

Much of it seems more like a long-delayed quality-of-life update than the promised new era. For example, being able to grapple around corners should have been possible years ago, and making it easier for beginners to get started was long overdue.

So the only really big, significant innovations are a new game mode (which is only played on one map) and a pricing model (which doesn’t dare to be completely Free2Play).

Veterans will be disappointed by the scant content supply, ex-players potentially don’t see enough significant improvements to return, so the hope remains for the newcomers. But if you haven’t gotten a whiff of the Siege air in ten years and the countless free weekends, your interest is probably just not strong enough.

This could give the X in wins X another meaning: X players who are disappointed by the big new beginning.