Rainbow Six Siege drops first Operation Steel Wave teaser

What you need to know

• Ubisoft has announced the next seasonal update headed to Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, titled Operation Steel Wave.
• The debut teaser shows two mysterious silhouettes, likely providing our first glimpse at upcoming Operators.

Ubisoft has unveiled Operation Steel Wave, the next seasonal update headed to Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, on track for an unveiling over the week ahead. The upcoming refresh for the hit tactical shooter marks second of its four-stage Year 5 roadmap, surfacing with a cryptic aquatic teaser.

Operation Steel Wave, the formal title for Year 5 Season 2, once again brings a duo of playable Operators, packaged alongside the latest of map reworks. Ubisoft has already detailed plans to explore new specialists from Norway and South Africa with the update, each likely to fulfill the usual attacking and defender roles. We also anticipate the promised rework of the iconic House locale, expanding the overall footprint, alleviating choke points, and renovated with new interior design — but tailored to casual players.

Rainbow Six Siege Operation Steel Wave: Everything We Know

We're also anticipating the arrival of various core gameplay features, first unveiled back in February at the Six Invitational, potentially bundled with the Steel Wave update. The new Ping 2.0 system is scheduled to arrive in the first half of the year, with a new contextual approach allowing players to tag specific gadgets. New secondary devices may also surface, including the long-promised Proximity Alarm and mini hard-breaching charge.

Previous leaks suggest the Operators will introduce the new "S.E.L.M.A." breaching launcher coupled, while the "Banshee" deployable will slow attacking foes. Both reportedly revive existing firearms, too, including the AK-12, Commando 552, and M1014 on attack, with the T-5 SMG and Super 90 on defense. Rumors suggest these Operators will be named Odin and Philisiwe, although remains unconfirmed as of publication.

As with past Rainbow Six Siege updates, Ubisoft rarely details precise release dates until just days away from deployment on live servers on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. However, well-established seasonal templates suggest a Steel Wave release date around June 7, 2020.