Highlights
- Ubisoft Montreal's latest update for Rainbow Six Siege is receiving backlash from upset fans, who are complaining about the changes made in the patch.
- Rainbow Six Siege is known for its intense, close-quarters combat, but fans are now frustrated with unpopular updates to the title.
- The removal of the unranked gameplay mode and other changes in the update have sparked passionate responses from players on platforms like Reddit.
The reception of players to the latest update to Ubisoft Montreal’s Rainbow Six Siege certainly isn’t going how the developer likely intended, with upset fans taking to the internet to complain about changes included in the patch. It’s well-known by fans of the franchise that Rainbow Six Siege can get players’ heart rates racing, but typically that’s a result of the tactical shooter’s intense, close-quarters combat, not frustration over unpopular updates to the title.
Originally released for PC and consoles in late 2015, Rainbow Six Siege is a multiplayer-focused spin-off of the long-running Rainbow Six series. With its heavy emphasis on cooperative tactical gameplay, Rainbow Six Siege stands out from other online shooters that place more emphasis on solo players. Although the Ubisoft title struggled to find an audience following its initial release, a series of updates over the ensuing years have led to Rainbow Six Siege developing a fiercely loyal fanbase. Frequently playing home to cameos from other popular gaming franchises, Ubisoft recently announced that Halo’s Master Chief is coming to Rainbow Six Siege as part of a crossover promotion.
While Ubisoft Montreal has been widely praised for its steady stream of updates to the aging shooter, the latest Rainbow Six Siege update is receiving a drastically different reaction. As part of its Operation Heavy Mettle update, Ubisoft’s Y8S3 patch brought numerous changes to the game that are drawing backlash from fans. Players on the r/Rainbow6 subreddit didn’t hesitate to voice their unhappiness with the patch, posting complaints about everything from graphical to gameplay changes. Commenting on changes made to the drone destroyed screen, which some Redditors speculated could be an attempt to avoid triggering seizures in epileptic players, one Reddit user stated that it now “looks like a big QR code.”
Others expressed their frustration with how the update affected the various gameplay modes available in Rainbow Six Siege. One change that drew an especially passionate response from fans of the game on Reddit was the removal of the unranked gameplay mode. Used by many players to gain familiarity with a map before hopping into Rainbow Six Siege’s highly competitive ranked matches, the removal of unranked games leaves players looking for low-stakes matches left to choose between Quickmatch 2.0 and the newly-introduced Standard mode.
Despite including a significant number of bug fixes meant to improve the overall player experience as part of the latest patch, it’s clear that not all of the changes included in this latest update are welcome by fans. Following this significant backlash from some of the game’s most vocal fans, it may take more than adding WWE wrestlers to Rainbow Six Siege for Ubisoft Montreal to get back in their good graces.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
