The uber-popular tactical squad shooter by Ubisoft, Rainbow Six Siege, might be going free-to-play soon, if recent leaks and rumors are to be believed. This will reportedly happen when Xbox makes free-to-play games available to play even without an Xbox Live Gold subscription.
Is Rainbow Six Siege Going Free-To-Play?
There've been numerous ramblings about Rainbow Six Siege going free to play, but a recent episode of IGN's Unlocked podcast could be the most credible yet. In particular, right around the 51-minute mark, the podcast moves on to discuss Rainbow Six Siege. Then, just a few minutes later, at around the 57-minute mark, IGN Editorial Producer, Destin Legarie, talks about how Rainbow Six Siege, among other titles, could go free-to-play on Xbox platforms.
In case you missed it, Microsoft is currently testing the removal of the Xbox Live Gold requirement in free-to-play multiplayer games. This means that players without active Xbox Live Gold subscriptions will finally get to access online multiplayer features on their Xbox console.
At the moment, the feature is not yet public. It's exclusive only to Xbox Insiders part of the Alpha Skip Ahead and Alpha programs.
With that said, it does make a lot of sense for Ubisoft to try and expand the reach of Rainbow Six Siege now that it's going on its sixth year. Not to mention, they've already laid the foundation for it. In recent months, Ubisoft has added more paid cosmetics than before. This suggests that they're preparing to monetize the game via microtransactions and in-game purchases.