Ubisoft expects Grand Theft Auto VI to temporarily pull players away from Rainbow Six Siege, but says it will respond by doubling down on those who remain.
Ubisoft is preparing for Grand Theft Auto VI to take a chunk out of Rainbow Six Siege’s player numbers when Rockstar’s blockbuster arrives this November.
However, the team isn’t planning to sit back and wait for players to return, although the game’s creative director Joshua Mills admitted the impact of GTVA VI will be unavoidable.
He told The Game Business: “We’ve got a massive launch coming with GTA. It doesn’t matter what genre you’re in; you’re going to take a hit when that drops. People are going to play it, and then they’ll come back. Heck, all of us are going to play it.
Rather than panic if Siege’s player numbers fall, Mills said Ubisoft wants to make sure expectations are realistic and focus on the players who continue playing.
He explained: “It’s about being smart with your expectations so you can keep the team and HQ aligned. If the team sees player numbers dip, they can get anxious, but it’s generally temporary.”
Ubisoft’s strategy will be to reward its remaining community rather than reduce activity during GTA VI’s launch window.
“Our golden rule is to serve the players who stay like kings and queens,” Mills said. “We don’t go on vacation just because a competitor is swelling the market. We double down and reward those spending their valuable time with us.”
That approach will include a major update, with Rainbow Six Siege Season Four scheduled to launch around the same time as GTA VI.
“Funnily enough, Season Four will drop right around that time,” Mills revealed. “That shifts up the game in different ways. We actually have some unannounced surprises held back to make a splash.”
Mills also discussed Ubisoft’s decision to release Siege X rather than develop a full Rainbow Six Siege 2.
Rebuilding the entire game would represent a huge undertaking, he said, while maintaining the existing game at the same time would be difficult.
“The need for doing it is not necessarily there with the cost of shutting the lights off,” Mills explained.
The Rainbow Six franchise will also expand in 2027 with Rainbow Six Siege Tactics, a turn-based tactical game set within the series’ universe.
Ubisoft is prepared for GTA VI impact on Rainbow Six Siege
