Rainbow Six Siege / Ubisoft
Instead of the usual shooter, Ubisoft seems to be preparing a big twist for the Rainbow Six universe — a turn-based tactical game.
According to an insider, the project really exists and is already in development. The new game will take place in the same world as Rainbow Six Siege. In it, you will be able to control familiar operators, not in real time, but step by step, with a top view — in the style of XCOM.
«Just watch the XCOM gameplay if you want to get an idea, I would say it’s an updated version with cinematic clips and so on», — the source says.
The game structure itself will be familiar to Siege fans: you choose operators, consider their abilities, plan a mission — rescue hostages, clear buildings, etc. The idea is essentially the same, but the pace and format are different.
This turn-based strategy is designed to last about 25–30 hours. However, Ubisoft can always add or cut something in the process. In general, the game looks like a full-fledged single-player project, not just an addition to multiplayer. The game is most likely planned for Xbox Series S|X, PlayStation 5, PC, and possibly for the recently announced Nintendo Switch 2. It is rumored to be released in a year or two.
An interesting nuance: part of the team involved in the development of the game may move to a new Ubisoft studio, working together with China’s Tencent. But so far, there is no official confirmation.
Apparently, Ubisoft seems to be looking for new formats for Rainbow Six. The last major game in the series — Rainbow Six Extraction — didn’t turn out too well: sales were so-so, and support was quickly withdrawn. But Siege is still on the move — over 50 million players and a new update in June, where it will be renamed Rainbow Six Siege X and switched to the F2P model.
Therefore, the turn-based Rainbow Six could potentially become a new breath for the series. In the meantime, Ubisoft is probably trying to take the franchise out of the shooter genre and offer something else.
Source: Insider Gaming