Rainbow Six Siege was released in 2015, and today, it’s still going strong. Ubisoft has made this flagship shooter the poster boy for its esports ecosystem, and the millions of fans worldwide can attest to how popular it is. From multi-million-dollar tournaments to a game that never stops evolving, Rainbow Six Siege is still in a very good place in the wider esports industry.
That topic was broached by Gaming World Media at the recent Six Invitational tournament in Boston. The team caught up with François-Xavier Deniele, Ubisoft’s VP of Global Esports, to talk about how Rainbow Six esports got started and why it’s still such a popular game today.
The Power of Rainbow
Rainbow Six is a legendary enough brand, but the strength of Siege is another talking point entirely. This game has stood firm for a decade, and it can be argued that in the last year or so, it has gotten increasingly popular.
Ubisoft refuses to relent when it comes to content updates and innovation, and most recently, the team uncovered Siege X, a full-blown overhaul that’s poised to take Rainbow Six Siege to the next level.
Looking back to where it all started, Deniele explained to Gaming World Media:
If I want to just look back ten years ago, Ubisoft was not known at all as an esports company.
I remember having my first meeting with orgs and clubs, being a Ubisoft guy, when you have Blizzard, Riot, Valve… And ten years after, yeah, we’re at the table and we’re proven.
But what does it take to keep Rainbow Six Siege so stable after all these years?
For me, it’s to stay open. Listen to the community all the time, make sure that we are serving the game. We are not here to change the game. The game is here for a large community. Esports needs to be delivering the best of the game and not trying to change the game.
It’s very important for me that we have a lot of discussions about the evolution of the game and also we make sure that we are sticking with the reality of the game, where the game is important, and not trying to think that we can become big on esports where the game is not here.
Talking about the wider ecosystem, Deniele mentioned that a constant flow of fresh talent is pivotal to the ongoing success of an esports game. There’s also a lot to be said about the structure of that competitive scene, and having breaks and supporting grassroots endeavours are remarkably important elements.
That’s the nature of the Six Invitational, and it was portrayed perfectly by two ‘orgless’ teams making it so far into this year’s event. While some esports games might ‘gatekeep’ who can compete in their events, Rainbow Six Siege is, for the most part, wide open and super accessible.
How long have you been a fan of Rainbow Six Siege esports? Let us know on the Insider Gaming forum.
For more Insider Gaming esports, check out the news that Cloud9 has stepped back from CS2 esports
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