Rainbow Six Siege rockets back up the Steam charts 8 years after release, proving why Ubisoft isn't worried about making a Siege 2

GamesFPSRainbow Six SiegeRainbow Six Siege rockets back up the Steam charts 8 years after release, proving why Ubisoft isn’t worried about making a Siege 2When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Ubisoft)

rainbow six siege sledge

Not bad for a live service shooter entering its ninth year, but especially surprising considering this is far from the first time Siege has been cheap and momentarily free. Ubisoft has held over a dozen free weekends (and a few whole weeks) on Steam over the years, typically timed around the release of a new season. This time is no different—Year 9 Season 1 began earlier this month with a new operator andbalancing tweaks.

So why are more people giving Siege a shot in 2024 than did during a similar free week in 2022? Twitch momentum might help explain it: the biggest streamer on Twitch right now,Jynxzi, almost exclusively plays Siege. His guest appearance at the Rainbow Six Invitational 2024 helped make it the most viewed event in the game’s history. He’s a big reason Siege is currently the number 11 overall game on Twitch (according toTwitch Tracker).

I also suspect lapsed players are returning in droves to check out the Year 9 changes, because I’m one of those players. I’ve barely touched the game in five months, but I signed in on day one to check out the shield reworks, ADS slowdown, and scope changes that finally ended the 1.5x sight’s reign. Then there’s Deimos himself, who seems to bea pretty fun attacker.

I also think there’s something to be said about Siege’s reputation as a factor. In its early years, Siege was known as a buggy mess that clawed its way out of a disastrous launch thanks to its one-of-a-kind gunplay and destruction. In 2024, it’s still buggy, but it has also made a new name for itself as a shooter that’sunafraid to change with the times, upend entire systems that don’t make sense anymore, and rethink its rules to make the game more fair and fun. Ubisoft has really put in the work over the last few years to make Siege consistent and balanced, and has slowly added quality-of-life features that rival its much larger competitors.

All of that is why I’m not surprisedUbisoft has no plans to make a Siege 2. Dated graphics and an aging engine be darned, Siege is one of the best FPSes around, and it’s still getting better. And until March 21, you can pick it up for less than a large coffee.

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