Siege is Free-To-Play This Weekend Because Somehow It Isn’t Already

by

This coming weekend, Rainbow Six Siege will be available for free play to all Xbox Game Pass subscribers. It’s possible you might find it unexpected, like me, that Siege – a tactical shooter from Ubisoft which operates as a live service – isn’t already a game that can be played without charge.

Siege Somehow Isn’t Free-To-Play After 10 Years

For a limited time, Rainbow Six Siege is available to play for free on Game Pass, from now until March 10th. Additionally, AEW: Fight Forever, Born of Bread, and Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown are also offering free play over the weekend. Interestingly, with its free access, Rainbow Six Siege seems almost indistinguishable from a game that’s already free-to-play.

The game Siege exhibits all traits common in free-to-play titles. It’s a live service shooter, complete with seasonal passes, loot boxes, an extensive cosmetics section, and numerous operators that can be unlocked through persistent effort or premium currency. The base version of Rainbow Six Siege needs to be purchased, and there are three versions available for upgrade: Deluxe Edition, Operator Edition, and Ultimate Edition. Currently, on Steam, Ubisoft is offering a sale, so you can buy the standard version or the Deluxe Edition for under $7. Unfortunately, the Steam store listing does not clearly explain the differences between these versions.

Initially when Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege debuted in 2015, Ubisoft found it hard to meet their expected player count targets. However, things began to pick up as they started offering regular free updates, eventually establishing itself as a model for how live-service games could thrive. By the year 2017, Ubisoft announced that Siege was drawing in approximately 2.3 million players daily. Subsequently, games such as Fortnite, VALORANT, and Apex Legends followed suit by incorporating live-service elements, but they eliminated a significant obstacle by making themselves available for free play.

Why hasn’t Siege transitioned to a free-to-play model yet? Some gamers argue that this strategy helps control cheating by requiring payment to access the game. It seems that the upfront payment method might be appropriate for Siege, especially as it marks its 10th anniversary and prepares for its next significant update, Siege X. Interestingly, both the Ubisoft sale on Steam and the world premiere of Siege X are scheduled for March 13. With the upcoming release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows later in the month, it looks like a busy period ahead for Ubisoft.

To get the newest updates from TopMob, check out the recent videos of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Remember to subscribe to our weekly newsletter as well.

Read More

2025-03-07 01:51