Fans may have been disappointed by the delay in Rainbow Six: Siege‘s launch from October to December, but the latest news announced by Ubisoft is sure to warm hearts. In statement to Eurogamer on Thursday, Ubisoft stated that all post-launch (DLC) maps will be absolutely free:
At launch, Rainbow Six Siege will have 11 maps, playable both day or night, all using the full potential of our Real Blast destruction technology. In addition, all post-launch maps will be downloadable for free. We want players to stay with us for the long term and have ambitious post-launch plans that we will detail at a later stage.
This statement is evidence that Ubisoft has certainly planned ahead for Siege. This post-launch approach involving adding maps for multiplayer games is as old as the concept of DLC itself, but making the maps free will go a long way in Ubisoft’s efforts to encourage players to stick around. Many will recall Call of Duty: Modern Warfare‘s infamous system of sectioning off the playerbase into groups depending on how much of the content they owned. Ubisoft likely sees that this method is not only divisive of the players, it encourages toxicity among competitors.
While the maps will be free, keep in mind that Ubisoft will definitely charge for something, whether that’s customization options like colors and skins or gameplay boosts of some kind is still unclear.
More exciting, however, may be the “ambitious post-launch plans” mentioned. What they could be is entirely shrouded in mystery. What isn’t mysterious, however, is the game as it currently is. Remember that if you’re interested in taking a look for yourself, take a look at the closed beta that begins September 24th. You’ll be able to play within the week!
In the meantime, just pray the game isn’t delayed any further. The real deal launches December 1st for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.