Rainbow Six: Siege X is out today, meaning one of the best tactical shooters ever made is now free-to-play

Ubisoft announced earlier this year that, as part of a massive overhaul, Rainbow Six Siege was becoming Rainbow Six Siege X, and adopting a free-to-play model to boot (which the publisher insists on calling "free to access", more on which later). Ever since release Siege has been one of the best tactical shooters out there: brutally unforgiving, heavily dependent on teamwork, and filled with unique abilities you don't see in other shooters.

Part of that is the game's clear inspiration, which is the 1980 Iranian embassy siege in the UK. This is one of the few times that the elite SAS has been seen in action, because as it launched an all-out assault on the hostage-takers the world's television cameras were watching. Footage and documentaries can easily be found on YouTube, and you'll see things like breach charges being deployed, a sledgehammer being used to smash through doors, and scary looking soldiers rappelling down the building.

That's the starting point for Siege (it even has an operator named after Margaret Thatcher, PM at the time, which is certainly a choice) and it gives this experience a level of authenticity and danger that I don't think any other competitive shooter has quite matched for me. Now you can try for yourself, though of course with the change in business model comes other ways for the game to be monetised.

Anyway: don't call Rainbow Six Siege X a sequel, even if parts definitely feel like they've been given a full overhaul. Among the more major changes coming to the game are the new "dual front" mode, featuring Siege's largest-ever map and teams of six pushing to capture enemy sectors while defending their own: ultimately you want to capture the enemy base to win. This includes elements like a neutral sector where players can take on assignments and earn bonuses, and the ability to change your operator when respawning.

Ubisoft's marketing bods have been on it as well, with the publisher now calling Siege X "the undisputed reference in tactical team shooters, where elite strategy and execution triumph." It's also making a big deal of a new onboarding experience for new players to the game: which includes "a new clearance level path, helping you progressively learn the basics and build the skills and confidence before jumping into tactical action."

Rainbow Six Siege X: Launch Trailer - YouTube

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This move has been some time coming. In 2020, then-director Leroy Athanassoff told PCG's Morgan Park that many of the game's developers wanted it to go free someday, but the upfront price also helped keep down the numbers of smurfs and cheaters. The game's current director Alex Karpazis reckons that keeping Ranked behind the paid version will help Siege X maintain a good balance, however:

"Having that barrier to Ranked or Siege Cup means you have to be committed to the game. It does mean we weed out smurfs, and it means we're prepared to continue supporting the most competitive aspect of the game," Karpazis told us in March.

"It is, in our opinion, the best of both worlds where you can bring in new players but also have this place where veterans feel super competitive and committed to the game."

Rainbow Six Siege X joins the ranks of Overwatch 2 and Hunt: Showdown in being an "update to the existing game, to a new game"—and as well as the various changes to gameplay, modes and monetisation comes with a significant glow-up that means new requirements for a "new era." You'll need more impressive hardware than the game previously required, though the minimum spec is pretty generous.

The base "free to access" version of Siege X certainly offers enough to figure out if this might be for you: it offers quick play, unranked, and the dual front mode, as well as a selection of operators that will presumably rotate as time goes on. Siege is so competitive and sweaty at times that I did often find myself plumping for unranked anyway, but if you want to make that step up to ranked play then you need to buy the Elite Edition which is £17.99 / $20 (there's also an ultimate edition for twice the price, which unlocks all 52 operators in the game and includes some extra skins).