After several disappointing delays, name changes, and setbacks,Rainbow Six Extraction’srelease date is rapidly coming into view. Unless there’s an unlikely last minute change in circumstances, players will finally be able to get their hands ontheRainbow SixSiegespin offon January 20. If that wasn’t enough to get fans of the publisher’sTom Clancy-labeled series excited, Ubisoft announced this week that the cooperative shooter will arrive on Microsoft’s Xbox and PC Game Pass services on that date for good measure as well.
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Tough Multiplayer Competition For Rainbow Six: Extraction
Online multiplayer gaming, and both of its competitive and cooperative sub-genres, has undergone something of a resurgence within the gaming industry over the last console generation or so. Between free-to-play hits likeFortnite, popularannualized stalwarts likeCall of Duty, and new prospects likeBack 4 Blood, players are truly spoilt for choice when it comes to the shooter options they can invest in. As a consequence of this, it can be challenging for a brand-new game to capture a slice of what is a crowded and competitive market.
Even for a release likeRainbow Six Extraction, a spin-off of a popular title that arguably paved the way for the genre’s acceptance within the esports scene, success isn’t always guaranteed. Being as competitive as possible in a crowded environment, and releasing a multiplayer shooter in the strongest possible state it can be, is therefore vital to the success and longevity of a game. It’s for these reasons that Ubisoft has not only decided toreleaseRainbow Six Extractionat a budget price pointon all platforms, but it’s also by far the biggest reason why the game is launching on Xbox and PC Game Pass, too.
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Instant Player Bases Through Xbox Game Pass
One of the most significant consequences ofRainbow Six Extraction’s launch on Game Pass, and why the partnership is perfect, is the fact that the game’s player base is going to be far higher now than it would have been if the title had been left solely as a more traditional release. In a market where the success of a multiplayer shooter is often determined by how many people are buying into the ecosystem that’s been built around it, having a healthy and substantial player base on day 1 can’t be understated. It’s for this reason thatgames like EA’sApex Legendshave been designed around free-to-play models from the ground up, as it maximizes the number of people the publisher can advertise to and make money off of with elements like microtransactions and battle passes.
GettingRainbow Six Extractionon to Microsoft’s Game Pass allows Ubisoft to effectively make the most of both worlds. Not only does the publisher get the benefits of charging some players an entry fee, it also gets the positives of effectively being free-to-play as well. Examining the recent struggles of games likeCall of Duty: VanguardandBattlefield 2042also demonstrates that, even if a publisher’s game is one of the biggest names in town, there’s no guarantee that players are going to stick around and invest in it.
Game Pass can often breathe new life into multiplayer titles even when they’ve been on the market for an extended period of time,as was the case recently withMarvel’’s Avengers. Paring a game that’s dependent on the amount of active users it can get, with a subscription service that has a pre-built player base, is one of the most straightforward ways to largely take worries like these out of the equation.
Future Benefits for Game Pass
Over the years, a similar phenomenon has already been observed onservices like PlayStation Plus. Following the successful launch ofRocket Leagueon Sony’s subscription platform, more multiplayer games likeFall Guyshave actively sought out partnerships in the hopes of chasing the same phenomenon. Likewise, more deals that see publishers putting their games into the hands of Game Pass users will further increase the value of Game Pass subscriptions.
Rainbow Six Extractionlaunches January 20 for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
