Siege has been free a dozen times before. Why is it blowing up again now?
Ubisoft’s quietly huge FPS continues to prove it’s not going anywhere. Boosted by a week of free access and a frankly ridiculous discount to $4, Rainbow Six Siege surpassed its all-time Steam concurrents record this weekend with a new high of 201,933.
Not bad for a live service shooter entering its ninth year, but especially surprising considering this is far from the first time Siege has been cheap and momentarily free. Ubisoft has held over a dozen free weekends (and a few whole weeks) on Steam over the years, typically timed around the release of a new season. This time is no different—Year 9 Season 1 began earlier this month with a new operator and balancing tweaks.
So why are more people giving Siege a shot in 2024 than did during a similar free week in 2022? Twitch momentum might help explain it: the biggest streamer on Twitch right now, Jynxzi, almost exclusively plays Siege. His guest appearance at the Rainbow Six Invitational 2024 helped make it the most viewed event in the game’s history. He’s a big reason Siege is currently the number 11 overall game on Twitch (according to Twitch Tracker).
I also suspect lapsed players are returning in droves to check out the Year 9 changes, because I’m one of those players. I’ve barely touched the game in five months, but I signed in on day one to check out the shield reworks, ADS slowdown, and scope changes that finally ended the 1.5x sight’s reign. Then there’s Deimos himself, who seems to be a pretty fun attacker.
I also think there’s something to be said about Siege’s reputation as a factor. In its early years, Siege was known as a buggy mess that clawed its way out of a disastrous launch thanks to its one-of-a-kind gunplay and destruction. In 2024, it’s still buggy, but it has also made a new name for itself as a shooter that’s unafraid to change with the times, upend entire systems that don’t make sense anymore, and rethink its rules to make the game more fair and fun. Ubisoft has really put in the work over the last few years to make Siege consistent and balanced, and has slowly added quality-of-life features that rival its much larger competitors.
All of that is why I’m not surprised Ubisoft has no plans to make a Siege 2. Dated graphics and an aging engine be darned, Siege is one of the best FPSes around, and it’s still getting better. And until March 21, you can pick it up for less than a large coffee.
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