Is Rainbow Six Siege Cross-Platform: How to crossplay Multiplayer?

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege has big things in store for us as Ubisoft is now committing to its roadmap, at least for the next two years.

This comes just as Rainbow Six Siege has solidified itself as a tactical shooter with tri-monthly seasons and free content updates. Now Ubisoft is preparing for the next-gen release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

Ubisoft will be targeting a launch day release for Rainbow Six Siege with both the next-generation consoles and there are high chances that crossplay will also be included.

Leroy Athanassof, the game director, has confirmed that several hundred employees are committed to the project.

This is good news for the people who will be buying the new consoles on release day but what about the community that has been asking for the ability to play along with their friends on different platforms?

Well, Ubisoft has finally listened and will bring crossplay too albeit some restrictions.

Currently, Rainbow Six Siege does not support crossplay between any platforms. So players playing on different platforms can not play with each other. That is not all, Ubisoft is soon planning to bring crossplay to Rainbow Six Siege.

1. When will Rainbow Six Siege Support Crossplay?

Players can rejoice, as Ubisoft has confirmed that Rainbow Six Siege will soon be getting crossplay support.

Recently, with the PS5 and Xbox Series X announcement, Ubisoft also announced that Siege would also be getting a launch day release for the next-gen consoles.

Ubisoft will also be adding crossplay support with this release. Does that mean only the players who buy the game on the latest console will enjoy the benefits of playing with their gang that is on another platform altogether?

That is exactly what Ubisoft will not be doing as that would have received massive backlash from fans as well as the gaming community.

2. How Would the New Crossplay Work

Ubisoft has confirmed that Playstation 5 players will be able to play with PS4 users, and Xbox Series X players can play with Xbox One users.

“Siege is going to be on new consoles. The only thing we are communicating right now is the fact that we are supporting cross-generation matchmaking. For example, PlayStation 5 players can play with PlayStation 4 players, and Xbox Series X players can play with Xbox One players.”

Ubisoft blog, Leroy Athanasoff, Creative Director

Thus to be precise, it is only cross-generation matchmaking rather than full-blown crossplay between all platforms. It was not what many expected when Ubisoft announced crossplay for Siege but it is a step in the right direction.

Crossplay between Playstation and Xbox is still limited due to the rivalry between Sony and Microsoft. Though, it wouldn’t be long before cross-platform crossplay arrives as some games already have the feature.

Enough talk about consoles, what about the PC players, will they get to dominate gamepad players in a PC-Console populated lobby?

3. Will PC Players Be Matched with Console Players?

Console Players need not be worried about getting griefed by PC players as Rainbow Six Siege is not going to support cross-platform between console and PC.

“I don’t think there will ever be console crossplay with PC”

Athanasoff

That is rightly so, as in a tactical shooter, a keyboard and mouse user has an inherent advantage over a console player, and mixing them will not bode well.

This is not something new, even when someone is using a gamepad with their PC to play an FPS shooter, the limitations of aiming with the stick is all too obvious.

So even when cross-platform multiplayer comes to Rainbow Six Siege, it will only be limited to consoles to keep things balanced as they should be.

4. What More to Expect from The Next-Gen Release

Ubisoft will also be bringing backward compatibility with the game’s release on the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Meaning, users can use their discs on both PS5 and PS4, while Xbox users can share the same disc in Xbox One and Xbox Series X.

“The game will be backwards compatible, meaning that you can take your disc of Rainbow Six Siege on PS4 and put it in your PS5, or take your Xbox One disc and put it in your Xbox Series X”

Leroy Athanasoff.

This is a relief to many as they don’t have to own the same game twice just to play on the latest piece of tech.

Ubisoft said in a statement that they didn’t want a divide in the community and players should continue where they left off when the new consoles finally drop.

This makes the transition nothing but smooth. Only if Ubisoft took a similar approach, some of their other franchises would have been more well received (Looking at you AC: Valhalla).

5. About Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, developed by Ubisoft Montreal, is an online tactical shooter published by Ubisoft. Released on December 1, 2015, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, the game is set for a next-gen release for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X in 2020.

The game’s latest season, Operation Void Edge, increased the character count to more than 50.