What you need to know
- Operation Steel Wave is the next update headed to Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege.
- The upcoming seasonal update will feature two new Operators, hailing from Norway and South Africa, and a House map rework.
- A reputable leak suggests Steel Wave will introduce a "pyramid device for the defender that slows you down," and the fourth "hard breach operator" to the roster.
The latest wave of new content is soon headed to Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, with Ubisoft scheduled to unveil its next milestone update over the coming week, Operation Steel Wave. The fusion of water and alloy marks the second seasonal refresh under Year 5, expected to further broaden the hit multiplayer shooter with new playable Operators, a reworked map, and more.
Ubisoft remains tight on what Steel Wave will include, beyond the assumed two playable counterterrorist gunslingers hailing from Norway and South Africa, bolstered by a rework of the existing House multiplayer map, geared to casual players. But a new reputable leak provides a potential glimpse at the imminent reveal, including an overview of what the latest recruits have in store.
The latest on Steel Wave comes via notorious Rainbow Six leakster Kormora, with a proven track record surrounding leaks throughout Year 4, and now extending into Year 5. Claims from the ResetEra user further back leaks surrounding a defender capable of slowing foes, through deployable "pyramid device." We also receive tease of "some sort of hard breach operator," a sizeable departure from past rumors, but how they differ for Thermite, Hibana, and Maverick remains unclear.
However, the discussed devices do align with a prior leak direct from Ubisoft, with website files including strings referencing unannounced gadgets, including "S.E.L.M.A. Detonations" and "Attackers slowed by Banshee."
Proven as well-versed with internal Ubisoft projects, they also state the impact of current world events has been more significant than initially expected. "The pandemic has affected Siege development a lot more than they predicted," Kormora writes. "Many are on work from home, but some don't have the necessary equipment. My dev friend has mentioned this has created some severe issues in Watch Dogs development for example. Development on Quarantine is still ongoing."
Rainbow Six Siege Operation Steel Wave still appears on track for an estimated June release, with future delays likely to hit later seasons, if any. For now, we wait for the upcoming seasonal reveal, expected to pivot from the now-canceled Pro League Season XI Finals in São Paulo, Brazil, for a digital-only live event.
Assuming Steel Wave remains on schedule, and the usual three-week period of Test Server (TS) trials on PC prevails, it positions the update for a June 9, 2020 release date.
