Ubisoft announced today that the Operation Black Ice Free Update for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is live. The content pack is part of the developer’s “ongoing commitment to provide new content on a regular basis” for the game. This expansion was originally meant to launch last month before being delayed.
The update includes a new Yacht map, two new operators named Frost and Buck from the elite Canadian special operations JTF 2 force, along with new weapon skins. There’s also a spectator camera feature available online for all platforms in custom games.
Ubisoft says their philosophy for Rainbow Six Siege is to avoid splitting the community by ensuring that all gameplay elements will be available at no additional costs. New operators and most weapon skins can be unlocked with the in-game earned currency, called Renown, or with R6 credits, which can be purchased with real money. This strategy still allows for some content to remain exclusive to the season pass, and for this update, those who’ve purchased the pass will immediately receive the JTF 2 operators, while other players can purchase them with Renown or the real-money R6 credits.
It looks like Ubisoft is dedicated to turning Rainbow Six Siege into a legitimate eSport, especially with their announcement of a Rainbow Six Siege pro league for Xbox One and PC. The base game has already undergone significant changes, include alterations to its playlists, and other updates. The game puts players in close-quarter confrontations, with one team playing as terrorists maintaining a stronghold, while the other team plays as counter-terrorist squad trying to breach the enemy’s position.
Rainbow Six Siege is currently available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.