Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege is the sixteenth installment in the Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Franchise
developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft Entertainment. It is considered a successor to the
cancelled Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Patriots.
Inspired by counter-terrorist activities across the world, Siege puts heavy emphasis on environmental
destruction and cooperation between players. Unlike previous installments, the game features no singleplayer
campaign and offers an online mode, though it does allow players to play offline in single-player tutorials
called Situations.
The game was released worldwide on December 1, 2015. An upgraded version of the game was later released for
the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X on December 1, 2020. Owners of the last generation version of the game may
upgrade it at no extra cost.
Team Rainbow has been deactivated since 2012. In their absence, many new terrorist organizations emerged as a
result. One such organization, the White Masks, came into prominence in 2015 by spreading chaos all across the
world, sharing no discrimination with who they terrorize. With their ultimate objective unknown, they become a
large enough threat that Team Rainbow was reactivated. Under the leadership of Aurelia Arnot, Operators were
gathered from all across the world.
After successfully stopping a biochemical attack on Bartlett University, Six performed a eulogy for those who
had lost their lives in the attack and many like it but also told of how Team Rainbow was back and that they
would be ready to defend the world where needed. In 2018, Aurelia Arnot resigned from the position of Six and
was succeeded by Harry Pandey.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege offers dozens of different Operators to choose from, each hailing from multiple
Counter-Terrorist Units from across the world. Only one Operator may be chosen from each specialty per round and
cannot be changed until the round is over. Each Operator features a selection of different weapons, abilities,
and equipment. Customization items, such as weapon skins and Operators themselves are obtained through earning
and spending Renown.
Matches are conducted in a 5v5 manner, with each player only receiving one life per round. As such, it is
extremely important to communicate with teammates and plan assaults when attacking or defense when defending.
Attackers start each round with 45 seconds to send a Drone to survey and detect items in the environment,
allowing players to find enemies and targets and mark them. Defenders, on the other hand, have the ability to
fortify their location and prepare for the inevitable assault by the Attackers. This is done through setting up
Reinforced Walls and Barricade around the area as well as deploying unique abilities to help defend the area
such as with Bandit's Shock Wires or Mute's Signal Disruptors.
The game features the "three main pillars" - teamwork, tactics, and tension. Each map features multiple
locations for both the Attackers and Defenders to choose from, greatly increasing the importance in conducting
surveillance. Each map is designed to be close-quartered oriented, and have an emphasis on verticality and
destruction.
The destruction system allows players to break structures by planting explosives on them or to make bullet holes
on walls by shooting it. The environments of the game feature a layered material system, in which environmental
objects of different materials show different reactions to player's attack. Players may gain tactical advantages
through environmental destruction, and that the system aims at encouraging players to utilize creativity and
strategy. In order to create a realistic gameplay, a bullet penetration system is featured, in which bullets
deal less damage when they hit enemies through structures. This creates an ever-changing environment on the map,
making it vital for players to be aware of their surroundings and work together.
The game features three main PVP gamemodes: Bomb, Hostage, Secure Area. Each multiplayer gamemode is a 5v5,
with players having four minutes in a round to complete the respective objective. Players only have one life and
a set amount of health. Matches are won once at least three rounds have been won. A fourth gamemode, Team
Deathmatch, was added during the Demon Veil Expansion. It features a deathmatch ruleset and allows respawning.
The game also features two PVE gamemodes: Situations and Terrorist Hunt. The Situations gamemode has ten
tutorial missions that allow players to practice gameplay concepts offline against bots and gain a better
familiarity with the game. Terrorist Hunt returns from past installments of the series, sharing many gamemodes
with PVP. It also features the "Classic" gamemode which tasks players with eliminating a set number of
terrorists based on difficulty who have fortified themselves on a map.