Over the weekend, Ubisoft introduced that its long-running success Rainbow Six Siege could be receiving a month-to-month membership subscription. Regardless of the devoted group that the sport has constructed over the previous eight-and-a-half years, the reception to the transfer has been something however heat.
As a substitute, as PC Gamer experiences, the R6 Membership has been getting universally dunked on since being introduced at a event over the weekend. A video included in PC Gamer’s write-up exhibits a crowd really booing Ubisoft, which might be seen once more from one other angle right here.
The R6 Membership, which can run gamers $10 a month or $80 a 12 months, comes with most of the fundamental trappings of comparable non-compulsory subs. Upon shopping for into the membership, gamers can be given immediate entry to the continued season’s battle move, be granted ten degree skips to get forward of the grind, and obtain a Bravo pack, which is Siege’s equal to loot bins. Each month, gamers may even be given ten extra degree skips and one other Bravo pack on their renewal date. Lastly, people who subscribe to the sub may even get a beauty drop with one legendary merchandise and no matter an Epic bundle is likely to be on the twenty eighth of every month.
There’s a good quantity of stuff there for the diehard followers of Siege, and the remainder of the battle move rewards additionally give out distinctive weapon and operator skins—in addition to in-game forex so as to add worth—however the timing of the sub couldn’t be worse. Siege is in the midst of its ninth 12 months, which might be spectacular if the present roadmap for the 12 months hadn’t already let down gamers with its gaping lack of recent content material.
The roadmap for the subsequent half 12 months consists of a variety of reworks to present characters and programs, and whereas a part of Siege’s plans for an extended whereas, it’s not met with a wealth of recent additions to maintain followers joyful. Such reworkings are, at this level, a staple of sustaining a live-service title. These video games can’t all the time simply throw in new maps, characters and skills each season, and in some unspecified time in the future that fixed progress slows to account for the imbalances all of it creates. Finally complete programs and places must be reworked or fully overhauled.
The identical has occurred to video games as huge as League of Legends and Apex Legends, nevertheless most video games don’t go a lot of the 12 months with as few additions as Siege is making in 2024. It has added one new character, and Siege will add a minimum of two extra over the subsequent few seasons, however the absolute bulk of “additions” coming for the remainder of the 12 months are modifications to issues that exist already within the sport, which is starting to develop into a sore spot for the group in the mean time. After which right here comes a bunch of recent cosmetics, however they’re locked behind a brand new paywall.
To throw additional gas on the fireplace, subscriptions like this are commonplace in video games which are in any other case free-to-play, like Fortnite, however Siege has remained a premium title over time. The optics of a subscription containing new goodies on this drought of content material for gamers who’ve in any other case already paid is undeniably unhealthy, and also you instantly get why persons are pissed off.
Redditors are already calling to boycott the subscription, whereas others are merely reveling within the chaos. Siege’s upcoming season was detailed at the exact same time because the announcement of the subscription, which has solely worsened the reception to the previous.
Kotaku has reached out to Ubisoft for a remark.