Rainbow Six Siege hoping for China release with help from Tencent

Rainbow Six Siege has become Ubisoft’s biggest success story on the competitive scene, with the Pro League Finals having recently made their Asia debut in Tokoname, Japan.  

Their plans for expansion however hit a bump in the road last year over plans to make ‘aesthetic’ changes to make Rainbow Six Siege more China-friendly, removing references to gambling, sexual content, and violence from the game.  

The changes met heavy criticism from the community causing the plans to be shelved – but it seems Ubisoft is working with Chinese gaming company Tencent to find another way of releasing it in the Chinese market.  

Speaking to The Loadout, Ubisoft’s EMEA esport director, Francois-Xavier Deniele explained how they’re focusing on China as the next ‘huge step’. 

‘Right now, I’m most excited about our plans for China,’ Deniele said. 

‘China, it’s something very important for me, and for Siege. I’m working a lot of the introduction of China at this point, because when it happens it’s going to be a huge step that changes not just for the state of the game, but also for the esports scene, because there’s such a huge market.’ 

Referring to past attempts at changes, he added they’re aiming to be ‘careful’ over how they integrate China into the future of Rainbow Six Siege.  

Tencent have some previous experience modifying titles for the Chinese market, with the company’s work on PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds resulting in a China release.  

PUBG was pulled from the country earlier this year, however, and replaced with a more patriotic alternative which managed to achieve regulatory approval to earn money through in-app purchases – so it’s likely Rainbow Six Siege could face similar hurdles in its release.