Why Rainbow Six Siege Refused to Die

Rainbow Six Siege started as badly as the shooters that got shut down. Ten years later, it's still here. Here's why. CHAPTERS 0:00 Same first month 1:09 The game that wasn't supposed to exist 3:05 The decision 5:45 Why it actually worked 7:46 The fair part 8:53 The long run SOURCES Player counts SteamCharts, Rainbow Six Siege: https://steamcharts.com/app/359550 SteamCharts, Spectre Divide: https://steamcharts.com/app/2641470 Spectre Divide and the graveyard Dexerto (Jeremy Gan), Shroud as lead gameplay advisor: https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/everything-we-know-about-spectre-divide-2847848/ Gematsu (Sal Romano), 12 Mar 2025: https://www.gematsu.com/2025/03/spectre-divide-to-end-service-within-30-days-developer-mountaintop-to-close PlayStation Blog (Ryan Ellis), Concord, 3 Sep 2024: https://blog.playstation.com/2024/09/03/an-important-update-on-concord/ Worthplaying, Concord price: https://worthplaying.com/article/2024/6/6/news/142269-concord-gets-3999-price-digital-deluxe-edition-pre-order-gets-you-beta-access/ Variety (Stefanie Fogel), Boss Key closes, 14 May 2018: https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/boss-key-productions-closes-1202809938/ Ubisoft News, Hyper Scape launch: https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/2QtiRPiSvrO8amQhnz35vE Windows Central, Hyper Scape shutdown: https://www.windowscentral.com/ubisoft-shutting-down-hyper-scape Ubisoft News, XDefiant launch: https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/4jGl7QwQwRdosmHoti4kxM Ubisoft News, XDefiant discontinued, 3 Dec 2024: https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/1EywTnGrZdDqCoxKs2zNhZ Siege Ubisoft News (Mikel Reparaz), 5 Nov 2015: https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/3GQHsUSZkftxd3pUDQyKe0 Hardcore Gamer (Matt Whittaker), review: https://hardcoregamer.com/reviews/review-tom-clancys-rainbow-six-siege/180863/ Metacritic: https://www.metacritic.com/game/tom-clancys-rainbow-six-siege/ Ubisoft News, Black Ice, Feb 2016: https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/4HgfcuUUCDvtEYdMjKsnCB Ubisoft, Operation Health: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/rainbow-six/siege/news-updates/seasons/health Ubisoft, Pro League: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/rainbow-six/siege/news-updates/67YGl5cRCXOArBbnWXkEgm/rainbow-six-siege-pro-league-starting-early-2016 Ubisoft, Invitational 2017: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/rainbow-six/siege/news-updates/75hyCWwQ5ObmOX1GVoTnfO/revealing-the-details-of-the-six-invitational-tournament Ubisoft News, 30M players, 12 Apr 2018: https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/6xVkbsYdufFI19BwGspnnB Ubisoft H1 2022-23 earnings: https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/10/27/2543119/0/en/UBISOFT-REPORTS-FIRST-HALF-2022-23-EARNINGS-FIGURES.html GameSpot (Eddie Makuch), 27 Oct 2022: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/seven-years-after-launch-rainbow-six-siege-has-85m-players-and-spending-continues-to-rise/1100-6508686/ Forbes (Mike Stubbs), Jynxzi, 8 Mar 2024: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikestubbs/2024/03/08/how-jynxzi-became-the-biggest-streamer-on-twitch/ SiegeGG (David Via), Jynxzi bundle: https://siege.gg/news/jynxzi-mute-mvp-bundle-everything-you-need-to-know Ubisoft Help, MouseTrap: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/help/rainbow-six-siege/player-safety/article/information-about-mousetrap-in-rainbow-six-siege/000113408 Ubisoft, Y8S1.2 patch notes, 11 Apr 2023: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/rainbow-six/siege/news-updates/HTkVw1mAg7DuA2ZKWCKe0/y8s12-patch-notes Ubisoft, Dev Blog: Toxicity, 4 Apr 2018: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/rainbow-six/siege/news-updates/4mPLa195TWiXREafM4T4oC/dev-blog-toxicity Ubisoft, DevBlog: Reputation System, 17 Dec 2020: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/rainbow-six/siege/news-updates/1tjFZoNSJycILiLUjMyw7X/devblog-reputation-system FOOTAGE AND IMAGES For commentary and criticism: Siege, Siege X and Patriots trailers 2015-2026 (Ubisoft); Six Invitational and Pro League (Rainbow Six Esports); Spectre Divide (Mountaintop Studios); Concord (Firewalk Studios / Sony); LawBreakers (Boss Key / Nexon); Hyper Scape, XDefiant (Ubisoft); Jynxzi bundle (Ubisoft, via SiegeGG). From Steam and YouTube. Photos (Wikimedia Commons): Shroud by Nate Herrera, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ; Jynxzi by ohnepixel, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . XDefiant logo: public domain. SFX: Freesound, CC0. MUSIC "Anti Entity" by Tad (OpenGameArt), CC BY 4.0: https://opengameart.org/content/anti-entity Half Mystery Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Screen Saver Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0