This upcoming weekend, Rainbow Six Siege will be free-to-play for all Xbox Game Pass members. If you’re like me, you might be surprised to learn that Siege, a live-service tactical shooter from Ubisoft, is not already a free-to-play game.
Siege Somehow Isn’t Free-To-Play After 10 Years
As part of its #FreePlayDays program, Rainbow Six Siege will be free to play on Game Pass, starting now until Monday, March 10. AEW: Fight Forever, Born of Bread, and Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown are also free-to-play during the weekend. But Siege’s inclusion is a fascinating one, because if you didn’t know any better, you’d assume that Siege was a free-to-play game already.
Siege hits all the characteristics of a free-to-play game. It’s a live service shooter with all the live service fixings: seasonal passes, loot boxes, a robust cosmetics shop, and dozens of operators that require vigorous grinding or premium currency to unlock. Not only does the standard edition of Rainbow Six Siege cost money, but there’s also three separate upgradeable versions: Deluxe Edition, Operator Edition, and Ultimate Edition. Now currently, there’s a Ubisoft sale on Steam, so you can get the standard version or the Deluxe Edition for less than $7. However, nowhere on the Steam store listing does it explain the differences between the versions.
Way back when the game first launched in 2015, Siege struggled to bring in the numbers that Ubisoft hoped for. However, it slowly improved in player numbers as it released a wave of free content and became a shining example of how a “live service game” could flourish. By 2017, Ubisoft said Siege was attracting 2.3 million players every day. Games like Fortnite, VALORANT, and Apex Legends adopted those same live-service tendencies, but removed a huge entry barrier by releasing as free-to-play.
But why is Siege still not free-to-play at this point? Some players would say it keeps cheaters at bay by making them pay to get in. Maybe the pay-upfront approach is the right one, since Siege is celebrating its 10 year anniversary, and heading toward its next “major evolution” in Siege X. Coincidentally , the Ubisoft sale on Steam ends on March 13, the same as the Siege X world premiere. Between that premiere and the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, it’s going to be a big month for Ubisoft.
Were you also surprised to learn Siege wasn’t free-to-play? Let us know in the comments or on our community forum!
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