Rainbow Six Siege at 10: What’s next for Ubisoft’s tactical shooter?

Ubisoft’s popular tactical shooter is nearly a decade old, as Rainbow Six Siege turns 10 at the end of 2025. A lot has changed for the game since it was first introduced back in 2015, and there are no signs of slowing down as it enters this next era. There is a wealth of new and exciting (but possibly controversial) changes coming, including the implementation of a new Siege X mode and a fully free-to-play status, which could bring new players into the fold. 

We’re outlining the current state of Rainbow Six Siege gameplay, all the new developments that are incoming, and what you can expect from the future of the intimate tactical shooter in 2025. 

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege has been running for a very long time, so it’s unsurprising to hear that the game’s officially in Year 10 Season 1, which invites players to “size control over the flow of battle in Operation Prep Phase”. This new yearly update includes a new Attack Operator named Rauora, who prioritises support and map control with her D.O.M. Panel Launcher unique ability. 

We have also seen sweeping changes to the Reputation System and Dynamic Matchmaking, which have made Rainbow Six Siege gameplay different and were (somewhat) controversial changes to the meta on its anniversary. Traditionally, there are four big seasons rolled out every year, quarterly, throughout the year, so we’ll likely see the Year 10 plan continue the rollout with new operators and balance changes. 

With that said, things have held steady with Rainbow Six Siege ranks since Ranked 2.0 was introduced at the very end of 2022. We’ve only seen minor improvements and balance changes to the game since then, with the disincentivised MMR system replaced by more overt Skill & Rank. Ubisoft will likely keep the systems for some time. Something that’s never changed (and unlikely to) is the rank resets, which happen at the end of each season.

One of the biggest new developments for the game’s current meta at its 10th anniversary is the introduction of Rainbow Six Siege X, which is a brand new permanent game mode that’s launching on June 10, 2025. It’s been billed as “The Reference of Tactical Team-Based Shooters” and challenges players to “engage in tactical 5v5 attack vs defence gameplay and intense close-quarters combat”. Essentially, it’s Siege’s answer to both CS2 and VALORANT, with all the early press material likening back to the former with a map that’s suspiciously similar to the popular Dust 2, which has been a mainstay of Counter-Strike for over 20 years. 

It’s more than just an imitation of two popular games, however. According to Ubisoft, Rainbow Six Siege X is the “biggest and most transformative evolution in its history”, and it’s said that: “This milestone will bring a visual overhaul, an enhanced player experience and gameplay changes that deepen the game’s tactical core”. You can’t really get any more substantial than that when we talk about the future of Siege, so let’s analyse exactly what the new permanent game mode brings to the table. 

Rainbow Six Siege X gameplay is different from the usual breach-based modes in a few substantial ways. We first need to understand the new game mode, which is called Dual Front. It’s a 6v6 mode, which is up from the usual 5v5, on an exclusive new map (clearly inspired by Counter-Strike), and sees either Attackers attempt to ward off Defenders, with bomb-planting action, which you’ll see from VALORANT as well as CS2. A key difference here, however, is the “Dynamic Objectives”, which add a new dimension to the otherwise rigid and static play we’ve seen from the other games. 

That’s not all, though. R6 Siege X also promises “Core Siege Upgrades”, with upgraded environmental destruction, more advanced repelling, and visual enhancements to the game. It’s even said that there will be an audio overhaul, so you’ll want to play with a high-quality headset capable of 3D audio if possible (or an encompassing sound system). New animations are also on the way, for weapon handling and movement, so the Siege experience will be receiving a substantial facelift outside of just lifting ideas from its competitors. The best part of all of this? Free access for all new players, so it should get those curious about Siege on side, even if it’s not going to win over any of the seasoned veterans. 

A major key to the game’s longevity is the Rainbow Six Siege crossplay and cross-platform support, as people playing on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms can all play together, seamlessly and automatically, provided you’ve linked a Ubisoft account. As such, you won’t be necessarily bound to any one platform with your cross-progression or who you want to play with, meaning that you’ll never struggle to get into a game. 

Then, there’s the fact that Ubisoft is incredibly forthcoming with its Rainbow Six Siege Roadmap, as every few months, there are new Operators, new balancing tweaks, and features to keep players coming back. In Year 10 Season 1 alone, we’ve seen Dynamic Matchmaking 1.0 be introduced, an Anti-Toxicity system, and what’s been called the “Binary Hardening Upgrade”, which is (essentially) an upgraded anti-cheat system. 

Despite launching in 2015, we can see that Rainbow Six Siege’s player count has been consistent for many years, with an all-time peak of 201,933 for the Steam version of the game being reported just over a year ago (via SteamDB). Routinely, there are around 60,000 players on any given 24-hour period, which, while a far cry from the figures of CS2 and VALORANT, is still more-than-respectable. Given the push of Siege X, we could see a new all-time peak coming next month. 

Rainbow Six Siege may be nearly a decade old, but the title’s not running out of steam yet. With new balancing updates, Operators to play as, and the Siege X game modes coming next month. Whether you have been playing since the title debuted in 2015, or were a later adopter to the popular breach gameplay, there’s a lot to look forward to in Year 10 and beyond. Whether the new CS2-inspired game mode will win fans remains to be seen.