Less than one month remains until the next Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege season reveal, with plans for its Year 4 Season 4 update expected to drop. And while the year's final tri-monthly content release, Ubisoft has proven keen for Year 5, continuing its 10-year roadmap for the hit tactical shooter. And while Ubisoft stays reserved on 2020, a new mystery lies on the horizon.
Ubisoft recently launched its "Mini Battle Pass" for Rainbow Six Siege, capitalizing on the growing monetization trend, bringing a tiered progression system. Completing milestones over the seven-day event unlocks exclusive cosmetic rewards, serving as a trial for a "full-fledged" continuation next season. The debut Battle Pass focuses on the specialist squad's lead Harishva "Harry" Pandey, packing four weapon charms themed around his legacy.
Introduced back in February, the new Team Rainbow ringleader was the source of several Year 4 content teasers. Promotional assets stowed a board stuffed with future details, later attributed to Phantom Sight and Ember Rise Operators. The board also stressed ties to Greece, especially notable given no mention of the nation throughout the full game.
The Greek sector bears the "Project R6 Vision" tagline, accompanied by images of various ruins in Athens. The Parthenon temple, Odeon of Herodes Atticus theater, among other landmarks are visible, alongside an unfamiliar floorplan of a potential new locale.
The introduction of the Battle Pass brings new questions, as Ubisoft drops further Greek references among content. The current rewards feature Harry's possessions, including a cryptic boarding card for a planned trip from London to Athens. "This is not a plane ticket," the paper reads. "It's an invitation for a front row seat to the future of Rainbow. I call it The Program. You may well call it home." The same ticket also featured in Ubisoft's "The Hammer and the Scalpel" CGI trailer, alluding to some form of Athens-bound event.
Harry's voice recorder stars as an in-game charm, also from the same short. The device display features truncated file names, "STADIUM_RESTOR," "TEAM_CONSTIT," and "TRM_RULES." The phrase "... is something the world has never seen, a tournament of champ..." also appears, describing some form of competition. This may all reference the restoration of the Panathenaic Stadium, host to the first Olympics in 1896, also located in Greece, Athens.
It's unclear where references lead, returning as Year 4 enters its final stages. We may see new Greek Operators and an Athens map with Year 5, fitting given the country's absence from the current Rainbow Six roster. A smaller-scale mid-season event is another possibility, although its mysterious "Project R6 Vision" codename suggests Ubisoft has more substantial plans.
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Ubisoft's hit shooter is hotter than ever, touting tense tactical gameplay, and regular free updates. With millions of players in 2019, Rainbow Six isn't slowing down.
