From Ubisoft:
This ambitious Year 11 plan introduces a focus on the core gameplay offer, including updates to Ranked and a new competitive mode, R6 ShieldGuard anti-cheat improvements, and compelling new content to keep players engaged each season. Starting with the launch of Season One: Operation Silent Hunt on March 3, these announcements reinforce the team’s commitment to community priorities and strengthening the core 5v5 experience to support its continued growth as a top tactical shooter.
Year 11’s Season 1, Operation Silent Hunt, brings a powerful new permanent Operator from KONAMI’s legendary METAL GEAR SOLID series—Solid Snake. This iconic attacker will give players access to an intel gathering gadget never seen before in Siege, as well as a brand-new secondary weapon—the legendary handgun TACIT .45—a semi-automatic pistol with an integrated suppressor built for covert operations. Solid Snake combines stealth, agility, and tactical intelligence, offering valuable recon abilities for attacking players to gain the advantage in a match.
“We’re excited to bring the world of METAL GEAR SOLID series into Rainbow Six Siege with Season 1’s new Redacted event, a limited‑time 4v4 infiltration mode where Snake and Zero lead a team of elite Operators to recover stolen data. Players will also discover exclusive skins such as Jackal as Gray Fox and Ash as Meryl, and we’re thrilled to have David Hayter lend his iconic voice to Snake’s in‑game cues” says Joshua Mills, Creative Director. ”The team also went a step further with ‘Last Assignment’, a new mission for Dual Front designed as a special nod to long‑time METAL GEAR SOLID series fans.”
Also coming in Season 1, Siege is releasing a new limited 2-week long 1v1 mode to the Arcade playlist. Players will face off in short, high-intensity rounds centered on solo gunplay, movement, and mechanical prowess. This fast-paced duel mode strips Siege down to its fundamentals and offers players the opportunity to challenge friends and random online players alike, or to test their pure mechanical duel skills. Additionally, three modernized maps will launch, bringing improved visuals and new destructible ingredients to Oregon, Coastline and Villa. Finally, the Siege team announced that Season 1 will be Dual Front’s last season, with this mode to be removed following one final METAL GEAR SOLID series themed event. The removal of Dual Front represents another step in the team’s renewed focus on the core 5v5 experience. This shift ensures that players of the core Siege experience will continue to benefit from the team’s work, made possible thanks to the key technology that was developed for—and through—Dual Front. Lastly, Season 1 brings a new seasonal cadence with four balancing updates and two Ranked map rotations, as well as a meta focused on Entry and Roaming, driven by changes to Skopos, Alibi, and Ela.
Seasons 2, 3, and 4 will welcome many new features, enhancing the gameplay to a unique experience. The integration of a Secure boot, named R6 ShieldGuard Secure Platform, will add a deeper anti-cheat protection layer to PC. Its objective is to strengthen security where competitive integrity matters most. Y11 will also deliver an Operator remaster in Season 2, with Dokkaebi evolving into a high-pressure intel-denial Attacker, loaded with a new weapon as part of her reinforced combat identity. This season will also bring a brand-new map that pays homage to Rainbow’s iconic Vegas era, Calypso Casino. Designed with today’s competitive standards, this map will be available in Ranked mode when it’s released. Season 3 will kick off with the addition of a brand-new Defender to the squad, a powerful counter shield Operator. Siege will deliver a brand-new long-term progression system—Operator Mastery*—that will allow to level every single Operator, and a new 3v3 arcade mode for a 2-week limited time. The new competitive playlist Legend Division, also coming in Season 3, is a solo-queue playlist only for the best players to become champions, elevating the game’s core 5v5 competitive foundation and experience. Y11 updates will include three modernized maps per season. Finally, Season 4 will unveil the Social HUB. It will offer players an in-game space to exchange with friends, send invites, and manage their squad, no matter what platform they use. A rework of Hostage will feature Season 4 to ensure it fits Siege’s tactical DNA and works on a competitive level. Full details for Season 4 will be unveiled later this year.
