Cut to a very familiar figure in a sneaking suit pulling out a silenced pistol amid, face obscured by red smoke. And if there’s any doubt, the video title literally says, “Solid Snake teaser.”

So there you have it – after decades, Sam Fisher and Solid Snake are finally going to be in a game together. It’s quite poetic, especially after Fisher was told, years ago, in Ghost Recon Wildlands, that the latter was out of the spy game.

Ubisoft will reveal more Solid Snake on February 15th when it showcases the roadmap for Year 11 at 8 AM PT. After a rather rough start to the year with hackers taking over and banning players for 67 days when they weren’t doling out tons of free currency, it’s quite the turnaround. Now let’s see if the next year of content can live up to the hype.

Rainbow Six Siege is available for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, and PC. It received a major overhaul and rebranding called Siege X last year.

This 67-day ban has been far from an isolated incident, with several players taking to social media to talk about it. While these issues might at first seem like they were only affecting the PC version of Rainbow Six Siege X, checking out the game’s status website paints a different picture, with the infrastructure of he PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S versions of the shooter also being affected. All five versions have been facing “4 Unplanned Issues”, which include “Degraded” connectivity, and “Outage” for Authentication, In-Game Store, and Matchmaking.

Ubisoft hasn’t yet made any statements regarding these recent hacks, which have in turn prompted some players to try and figure out what the issues might be on their own. One Reddit user has posited that it might be related to a vulnerability in the game’s implementation of the MongoDB database system. Interestingly, while players and even Ubisoft’s own status website notes outages affecting Rainbow Six Siege X, the game’s subreddit has many players pointing out that they have been able to play without any issues whatsoever. “Damn, I just logged off like half an hour ago. Been playing all morning,” wrote one user over the weekend.

Ubisoft had first spoken about its new R6 ShieldGuard initiative back in March 2025 when it officially unveiled the new features of Rainbow Six Siege X leading up to its free-to-play release. Programming team lead Adrian Fraisse spoke about the development team taking things like in-game toxicity more seriously, while also noting that the game’s code would use Binary Hardening to more thoroughly encrypt its files.

“Cheating and toxicity has no place in Siege, and we won’t rest until it’s a thing of the past,” said Fraisse. “At SI, we introduced a new initiative, R6 ShieldGuard.” The title also features in-game defense systems to prevent players from performing actions that have been dubbed “impossible” during gameplay. These actions include going directly against the game’s core mechanics, like sprinting and shooting at the same time.

Rainbow Six Siege X got its free-to-play release on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S back in June 2025. Along with stronger anticheat and anti-hacker systems, the shooter’s re-launch also brought with it the brand new Dual Front game mode, as well as some upgrades to the game’s visuals.

The tactical team-based shooter, overhauled into Siege X with a free-to-play model last June, would certainly stand out, especially with other shooters yet to really support the console. And while creative director Alexander Karpazis is focusing on current platforms, he threw out a classic “never say never” for the future to IGN.

“For us, the focus will always be on the platforms we’re on right now, making sure that it’s the best experience, and when we do new gameplay [that] it makes use of the platforms that we’re on. So right now, any new platform isn’t necessarily a focus for us. But again, we’re a live game, it’s 10 years. I learnt a long time ago to never say never, so we’ll see as platforms grow and new opportunities come up too,” he said during an interview at Gamescom Asia x Thailand Game Show.

In the meantime, Rainbow Six Siege X will host a big in-game event to celebrate the title’s tenth anniversary. “We have rewards that we have planned for our players as well. So yeah, we’ll absolutely be taking advantage of this big moment and celebrating it with everyone.”

Rainbow Six Siege X is available for Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. It’s currently in the middle of Season 3, which added Denari, a new Operator, the Glaive-12 as a new weapon, an update to Dual Front, and three modernized maps. Check out the roadmap for more details on what’s next.

Along with making the game free-to-play, Rainbow Six Siege X also brings with a host of new features, such enhanced rappelling. The update has also brought with it an entirely new game mode, the fast-paced Dual Front mode where players can pick from both Attackers and Defenders over the course of a match. Check out our coverage for more details.

The release of Rainbow Six Siege X also marks the start of the latest season of the game, dubbed Operation Daybreak. The season itself brought with it a host of fixes for both bugs as well as overall balance. According to Ubisoft, the update weighs in at 51.6 GB (91.53 GB with Ultra HD textures) on the Ubisoft Connect version of the game, 32.3 GB (39.1 GB with Ultra HD textures) on Steam, 37.6 GB on Xbox One, 57.6 GB on Xbox Series X/S, 48.63 GB on PS4, and 41.31 GB on PS5.

While Daybreak isn’t bringing with it a new playable Operator, Ubisoft is instead making use of the season to remaster one of the older Operators in the roster – Clash. Going forward, Clash will have better mobility, with a CCE Shield that can anchor to the ground and allow her to move free.

While we’ve already covered most of the new features of Rainbow Six Siege X back when Ubisoft revealed them in March, you can check out the patch notes for some of the smaller bug fixes below.

Rainbow Six Siege X Bug Fixes Patch Notes:

Gameplay

• FIXED – No access to text chat for console players outside of the US.
• FIXED – The AirTEP and helicopter disappear from the player’s screen (host or client) when extracting the hostage after a Join-In-Progress (JIP) session.
• FIXED – Game server crashes when a player in support mode attempts to deploy a drone immediately after pressing the respawn key.
• FIXED – The sabotage kit obstructs player visibility when entering DBNO at the start of sabotage.
• FIXED – Ace’s S.E.L.M.A. Aqua Breacher can successfully breach electrified walls, bypassing electrical defenses.
• FIXED – The pulse animation in the minimap has been removed and now only appears in the headers when the player opens the menu or after dying.
• FIXED – Game crashes when Anti Aliasing is set to 4x.
• FIXED – Vaulting over a door barricade should result in consistent landing placement, whether or not the player has a shield equipped.
• FIXED – If the defuser is planted on a Kiba Barrier, it will be destroyed when that barrier is removed.
• FIXED – Enabling AMD FSR 2.0 causes the screen to turn black during gameplay.
• FIXED -Playlists are locked after exiting a 6 player squad.
• FIXED – A number placeholder briefly appears during the first boot while security measures are being downloaded.
• FIXED – The hostage extraction animation will unexpectedly appear during gameplay.
• FIXED – Attacking bots can be drawn indoors through combat, causing the remaining bots to stay outside for extended periods.
• FIXED – The free look prompt should not be visible while free look mode is active.
• FIXED – Player will plant instead of barricading when facing a door or window inside the objective room.
• FIXED – The vignette effect that appears during healing is active at the same time the player enter the objective room.
• FIXED – Attackers from Team B are not affected by Thatcher’s EMP grenades from Team A.
• FIXED – The metallic middle bar of a deployed Alibi Prisma does not appear on IQ’s electronic detector when viewed from below.
• FIXED – Oryx’s Remah Dash will destroy the fire extinguishers without activating the smoke and concussion effects.

User Experience

• FIXED – Ram’s BU-Gi appears with a placeholder texture in the operator menu.
• FIXED – “Too many squadmates” error message will appear if the player leaves a custom online lobby.
• FIXED – The lobby becomes unresponsive when the lobby owner closes the title.
• FIXED – Squad members remain in the After-Action Report (AAR) when the leader exits to the main menu, with the option to bring them along.
• FIXED – Player enters DBNO after falling to the ground.

Dual Front will come with its own bespoke map that features 3 distinct zones: Front A, Front B, and the Neutral zone. Both teams will have to juggle between attacking one Front while defending the other. The Neutral zone acts as more of a free-for-all area where players can use all their abilities against each other.

To facilitate Dual Fronts, the game mode will allow players to pick between both Attacker Operatives as well as Defender ones so that they can make use of the appropriate tactics depending on where they decide to fight.

Interesting, the list of Operators that players can choose from will be a curated one. According to the announcement video, this list will be constantly evolving, offering fresh options and match-ups for player. Players can also decide to try different Operators in the same match thanks to the game mode featuring unlimited respawns.

To win, a team has to make it into the enemy’s objective room, where they can then plant a Sabotage Kit. This kit takes some time to complete the objective, however, and the attacking team will have to defend the Sabotage Kit from their opponents. Doing this once opens up a new objective room, which will once again require the planting and defence of a Sabotage Kit.

After completing the objective twice, the opposing team’s HQ then opens up. Once again completing this objective in the enemy team’s HQ means that your team has won the whole match.

Thanks to the game mode offering a mix of Attacker and Defender Operatives, both teams will be going for similar objectives in each others’ bases. This need to juggle between attacking and defending in the same match is what gives the game mode its Dual Front moniker.

The Neutral zone offers its own twists on the game mode, encouraging flanking and other new tactics, as well as time-limited assignments like hostage extraction. Completing these assignments gives your team a boost. The nature of these boosts will change with every season of Rainbow Six Siege X.

The Dual Front mode in Rainbow Six Siege X will also make use of all of the other new features coming to the game. This includes the new environmental interaction options offered by things like gas pipes and fire extinguishers, as well as the new movement options offered by the advanced rappelling system.

All of this will be wrapped up in other modern features, including completely redone audio as well as enhanced visuals thanks to improved lighting and shadows, as well as 4K textures.

Rainbow Six Siege X will be a free update for Rainbow Six Siege on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. Players new to the game will be able to play for free once the update hits on June 10.

The gameplay reveal trailer gives us a brief glimpse at how Rainbow Six Siege X will play. While the core gunplay will be seeing improvements, there are also plenty of new gameplay additions, including the ability to make use of rappel lines to run along walls, and a new destruction system that opens up more options for players on both the attacking and defending sides.

The new rappelling system will allow players to pull of a series of advanced tactics through the ability to sprint laterally and turn around corners. The new motion capture work done for the rappelling system also ensures that the movement systems will be more realistic than before.

When it comes to the environments, players will have plenty of new options as well. As shown off in the Environmental Destruction video, players can also shoot at interactive objects on walls, like fire extinguishers, to create quick short-term effects like smoke screens. The system is designed to give players the option to create more chokepoints across various levels, with objects like pipes also being usable to take out enemies.

Rainbow Six Siege X is also bringing with it massive visual upgrades to classic maps from Rainbow Six Siege. This includes new modern features like 4K textures, as well as improved lighting and shadows.

When it comes to tackling cheaters and toxicity, Ubisoft has emphasised that it will be doing everything it can to ensure that Rainbow Six Siege X will be free of these elements. In a video, programming team lead Adrian Fraisse spoke about the new R6 ShieldGuard initiative.

“Cheating and toxicity has no place in Siege and we won’t rest until it’s a thing of the past,” said Fraisse. “At SI, we introduced a new initiative, R6 ShieldGuard.”

As part of R6 ShieldGuard, different players will get slightly different executables to launch the game. This is being done in order to prevent tampering, with the game issuing sanctions to the players if tampering is detected.

To further prevent tampering, Rainbow Six Siege X‘s game code will be further encrypted through process dubbed Binary Hardening. With these new features, Ubisoft wants to prevent cheat makers from being able to make viable businesses out of creating cheats for Rainbow Six Siege X.

There will also be an in-game defense system that prevents players from performing behaviours dubbed “impossible” during gameplay. This includes things that go directly against the game’s core mechanics, like sprinting and shooting and the same time.

Rainbow Six Siege X is being developed for PC, pS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. It will be released as a free update for Rainbow Six Siege on June 10. Players new to Rainbow Six Siege will be able to pick up the game for free once the update hits.

Though details are vague, there will be “new ways to play, deepened tactical gameplay, refined game feel and major upgrades all around.” The showcase will feature content creators, development team members and players to showcase “all the evolutions” alongside “many more surprises.”

According to Frax, who first leaked the “sequel’s” existence, Siege X will allegedly feature an engine overhaul and updates to the modes and textures. It’s apparently launching “sometime in the future,” likely after Year 10, Season 1, so a shadow drop is unlikely. Never say never, though.

Stay tuned for more details and updates next month. Rainbow Six Siege is available for Xbox One, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. It launched in December 2015 and has seen numerous updates, new Operators, and overhauls ever since. The registered player count crossed 80 million in 2022 – the same year the underwhelming spin-off, Rainbow Six Extraction, launched. Check out our review for the latter.