Why Is Rainbow Six Siege (X) so Important for Ubisoft and Beyond?

What has made Rainbow Six Siege so engaging for over ten years? What role do Ubisoft's German studios play in its development? What has made the game so successful? In an interview, Mohammad Benhenneda (Business Strategy Director) and Alexander Karpazis (Creative Director) answer these questions and more.

Since its release in 2015, Rainbow Six Siege has become one of Ubisoft's most important games. To celebrate its tenth anniversary, the game is receiving a massive update that includes a new, game-changing mode. A spotlight on the Siege X update can be found here.

We had the opportunity to speak with Mohammad Benhenneda (Business Strategy Director) and Alexander Karpazis (Creative Director) about the surprising success of Rainbow Six Siege, its significance to publisher Ubisoft, and how players have remained engaged with the game for such a long time. We also discussed the contribution of the German Ubisoft studios to Rainbow Six Siege, and its esports aspect, given that the Blast R6 Major is coming to Munich in November.

GamesMarkt: When Rainbow Six Siege was released, could you have imagined how big and successful the game would become over the years?

Mohammad Benhenneda: "I don't think anyone could have imagined the community that has grown around this game since its release. During initial development, the team was focused on launching one of the first HD games as a service title at Ubisoft and understanding the ropes of it all. Ultimately, our focus on bringing this unique sandbox within the shooter space really paid off, and we've built our own niche. From there on, the community picked up the game and made it their own, all of it leading to a decade of Siege and another 10 years of content coming up."

Alexander Karpazis: "Siege has a dedicated and passionate community, and over 80 million players. It has one of the strongest and most competitive Esports scenes in the industry. Siege also has a 10 year legacy of content, updates and meta changing gameplay that hasn't been replicated anywhere else. None of this could have been anticipated when the Siege team launched nearly a decade ago, but there was a dream and determination to do something special, something that's never been done before, and the passion of the team and respect it has for its community has translated into one of the biggest success stories we've ever seen. It's humbling and exciting to see the reception of Siege X building on that legacy."

GamesMarkt: How did the game become a Live Service title, or was that the plan all along?

Alexander Karpazis: "Although the objective of Siege changed over the course of initial development (it did start as a coop campaign called Patriots), it eventually settled on being a PVP tactical shooter that would grow and adapt over time. Originally, new seasonal releases would introduce new CTUs (Counter Terrorist Units) but this would also change late in development, instead focusing on new individual Operators coming from different CTUs. The team did underestimate the amount of work it takes to build and operate a live game; a moment most players remember is Operation Health, where the team took a break from releasing content and instead focused on the health and debugging of the game. But the team also hit the nail on the head in a few aspects, especially the seasonal cadence of four seasons a year, introducing something new and fresh for players every three months. With Siege X, the team will be releasing more content and events than ever before, stepping up when it comes to Live Service commitment."

GamesMarkt: How important is Rainbow Six Siege for Ubisoft? Along with Assassin's Creed and Far Cry, it is now one of the company's pillar brands...

Alexander Karpazis: "Rainbow Six Siege not only is important to Ubisoft, helping lead the company in terms of Live Service and PVP gameplay, it's also a leader in the industry. The Siege team has pioneered subjects such as anti-toxicity and anti-cheat, with the Reputation System and R6 Shieldguard. It's become a staple for the many platforms it's on, with many players seeing it on the most played lists of Xbox, PlayStation and Steam. Its originality and genre-defining gameplay has stood out to players and we're excited to show the immense investment Ubisoft has made in the game with Siege X."

GamesMarkt: Why do you think the game has done so well? What do players like about it?

Mohammad Benhenneda: "Rainbow Six Siege is a tactical game that allows players almost unlimited possibilities in terms of a creative sandbox. Every match of Siege hits differently and each game brings tension which is why, after 10 years, players keep returning to the game. In Siege, while aiming will definitely net you an advantage, the knowledge of the game and its possibilities will be just as valuable and more."

Alexander Karpazis: "Although first person shooters, especially player vs player shooters, are wildly popular to begin with; Siege has always stood out as a special game that rewards players time with exceptional creativity and the blood-pumping adrenaline rush you get when you outsmart and outplay your opponent. Siege weaves a complex web of tactical strategy, and at the heart of it is its destruction. This close-quarters, purposeful destruction makes every round of Siege unique. At the end of a round you can see the destruction and gadgetry change the tempo and strategy of play, and it's a fun experience we haven't seen replicated anywhere else in video games."

GamesMarkt: How do you keep players interested for so long and keep them coming back?

Mohammad Benhenneda: "Our seasonal updates every three months give players new content, updates, features and more, keeping things fresh. We've also been heavily investing in our quality of service and our security in order to make the games as fair as they can be. These elements have major impacts on the players' commitment to the game because ultimately, we're all in this together in order to make Siege the best game it can be."

Alexander Karpazis: "The reason why players keep coming back to Siege is because of its strategic depth that's the size of an ocean. Siege is a journey in learning. It's a scary and challenging game for a newcomer, but it's that same challenge that makes players appreciate each moment they learn something new, and apply it during a match. With new characters, gadgets and maps constantly added to the mix, there's always something new to learn, and strategies to master. The most important change we've made with Siege X is to help new players onboard faster, and show them the beauty of learning the many ingredients of the game that make it special. We've done this by overhauling the first-time user experience, and we hope more and more players can see why millions of players before them love the game."

GamesMarkt: How has the development team grown in the years since the game's release, especially considering that the game required long-term support and development capacity?

Alexander Karpazis: "The team has grown and evolved over the years in many ways. We want to ensure first and foremost that the health of the team, and sustainability of a big project like Siege means that it's fun and rewarding to work on. We've changed our development over the years to empower our developers to make changes and explore new opportunities. We've also adapted to growing demands such as players wanting more and better customization options, faster updates to game balancing, and securing the game against cheat makers. With Siege X, we've grown by leaps and bounds to make sweeping changes like improved graphics, and also built new teams to develop features like the new game mode Dual Front. What's been amazing to see is the generational changes to the team. We have new developers joining us who were originally players of the game. They're learning and also teaching veteran developers who worked on the original Rainbow Six games!"

GamesMarkt: Which Ubisoft studios in Europe and GSA are involved in the development process, and what are their respective roles?

Mohammad Benhenneda: "In Germany, we have studios in Dusseldorf, Mainz and Berlin working on Siege. These developers are working on key mandates of the game like anti-cheat, shop, progression, the player journey and our tech backend. Across the rest of Europe, we have studios in Kyiv, Barcelona and Newcastle. These studios are working on a wide variety of subjects, from accessibility to onboarding and asset customization."

GamesMarkt: Why did the team decide to release a major update (Siege X) instead of a sequel?

Alexander Karpazis: "When a game like Siege asks so much of it's players, the difficult and unflinching gameplay, the massive network of gameplay interactions between Operator, gadget and environment, it was a priority for us to respect the time and investment of our community. We didn't want to throw away all of that tactical knowledge. We also didn't want to make the collection of skins and cosmetics meaningless by throwing it all away. We believe the success of a game that continuously updates comes down to the mutual trust between the development team and the player. This is a relationship that's grown over a decade. It was a clear decision for us that we would never make a sequal, but instead focus on a large impactful change to the game to modernize it and make it match the expectations of our players."

GamesMarkt: What do you see as the main features of this update, and what do you think are the risks associated with Siege X?

Mohammad Benhenneda: "From the very beginning, Siege X has been designed as a complete experience that is greater than the sum of its parts. While we're proud of every individual feature coming to Siege X, our approach has never been about spotlighting just a few as 'main' features. Instead, we've always looked at the game as a whole, making sure it resonates with all types of players. Whether you're new, returning, or a long-time veteran, Siege X offers something for you, and that something might look different depending on who you are."

GamesMarkt: What impact will Siege X have on the esports scene for Rainbow Six Siege? And what are your plans for esports in general?

Mohammad Benhenneda: "Our objective with Siege X is to continue to grow the game and community, and this includes Esports. We've introduced the esports tab within the game for players to discover what is happening on the competition side of things. We also want to invest in key territories where competition is at the heart of the player base. This is why we're excited to come to Germany for the November Major in Munich! We are really looking forward to having a Major over there."

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