Play Rainbow Six Siege for free this weekend

The Italians are coming to Rainbow Six Siege, and so is a free weekend—this coming weekend, in fact. Ubisoft announced today that interested but uncommitted gamers will be given full access to all maps, modes, and Operators at 10 am PT/1 pm ET on May 17.

Preloading is slated to begin sometime today, so you can jump in and shoot at people as soon as the free-to-play period starts, rather than having to wait for a download to finish first. Any progress you make during the free period will carry over to the full game, should you opt to purchase it.

It's all fairly standard stuff for a free weekend, but you can dive into the details if you like at ubisoft.com. The freebie will come to an end at 1 pm PT/4 pm ET on May 20. Ubisoft also said that Rainbow Six Siege is on sale for up to half-price, but for the moment it's going for full bang on Steam, Humble, and Ubisoft's own store—it's possible that the price will drop once the free weekend is live, but be aware that for now, no discount applies.

Make allies and prepare for war this weekend during the Rainbow Six Siege Free Weekend, happening May 17-20. Save up to 50% and play free > https://t.co/SWZIlBHp17 pic.twitter.com/LXvSjdScGvMay 15, 2018

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.