Rainbow Six Siege Fans Unhappy with New R6 Membership Subscription

Fans of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege are voicing their displeasure over the game's newly announced premium subscription, R6 Membership. Developer and publisher Ubisoft promises that this service will elevate the gaming experience for players.

Unveiling at BLAST R6 Major Manchester 2024

During the recent BLAST R6 Major Manchester 2024 tournament, Ubisoft provided more details about Operation New Blood (Y9S2), the upcoming season of Rainbow Six Siege. While the company discussed the long-awaited rework of the game's recruit character, it also introduced the R6 Membership, a paid service set to launch with Y9S2 on June 11. Despite the service not yet being available, the Rainbow Six Siege community has already expressed dissatisfaction.

Footage from the live reveal of R6 Membership at the Manchester Major, uploaded to Reddit, shows crowd members booing and giving thumbs-down gestures. For a $9.99 monthly fee, or $79.99 yearly, R6 Membership offers subscribers access to the game's battle pass and other rewards. Early enrollees before June 27 will receive an Epic-rarity bundle for Mozzie, 10 battle pass levels, and a Bravo pack. Those who subscribe between June 11 and June 18 will also get an additional cosmetic set for Ash and 600 of Rainbow Six Siege's premium currency, R6 Credits.

Community Backlash

Reddit users criticized R6 Membership, with one community member claiming it offered little value. Another user noted that while the service is similar to Epic Games' Fortnite model, Fortnite is a free-to-play game, unlike Ubisoft's FPS. The Standard Edition of Rainbow Six Siege, considered one of the best tactical shooters of all time, regularly sells for $19.99 on Steam and the Ubisoft Store.

Operation New Blood and Recruit Rework

The community has been more receptive to the rework of the game's default operator, recruit, in Operation New Blood. In the next season, both attacking and defending teams will each get a new 2-speed, 2-health recruit capable of carrying two secondary gadgets. The attackers' recruit, Striker, will have access to the M4 assault rifle, M249 machine gun, 5.7 USG pistol, and ITA12S shotgun. The defenders' recruit, Sentry, will use the Commando 9, M870, C75, and Super Shorty.

Additional Updates in Operation New Blood

In addition to the R6 Membership and new recruit operators, Operation New Blood will include nerfs for two of the game's strongest defenders, Fenrir and Solis. The update will also alter the functionality of barbed wire, making it inflict a small amount of damage on any enemy it contacts. Y9S2 of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege is expected to deliver bug fixes and other game tweaks as well.