The Aussies are coming to Rainbow Six Siege in Operation Burnt Horizon

Confirming a rumor that's been kicking around since late last year, Ubisoft announced today that Rainbow Six Siege Year 4 Season 1, Operation Burnt Horizon, will go to the land down under, where women glow and men plunder and a pair of old pals from the SASR will bring their practical Outback knowledge to bear on a standoff at a gas station about a half-mile up Anarchie Road.

The new operators are members of the Special Air Service Regiment, a special forces unit of the Australian Army modeled after Britain's SAS. The attacker is strictly business while the defender has a taste for the spotlight, but despite their differences it sounds like they've got a lot of history behind them.

"Two old mates from way back, they’ve signed up with Rainbow to bring a little Aussie know-how to the other side of the world," Ubisoft said. "This includes a new device that’ll keep roaming Defenders on their toes, and one that’ll leave Attackers at a bit of a loss."

Burnt Horizon will also bring in a new map set in one of those service stations that exist on a long, flat stretch of road to nowhere, where a high-stakes chase has come to an ugly end, "resulting in a map that's packed with twists, turns, and Australiana." Hopefully we'll also get at least one opportunity for a "that's not a knife" joke.

(I did notice one amusing Aussie Easter egg visible in the full-resolution image above: No spoilers, but it's nothing a year in the tropics wouldn't fix.)

Ubisoft didn't get into any further detail about the Aussie squad joining the team, but given how well what it announced matches up with the previous leaks, including the physical appearances of the operators, it's a good bet that the rest of that information is close to the mark too: The attacker, named Gridlock according to the leak, might lay "red web trackers" that damage mobile defenders and make noise when tripped, while Mozzie, the defender, employs a device that enables her to assume control of enemy drones.

Ubisoft will unveil Rainbow Six Siege: Operation Burnt Horizon in full on February 17 during the Six Invitational in Montreal, which will be livestreamed on Twitch.

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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.