Debuting all the way back in 1998,Rainbow Sixwas one of the first high-profile games to really popularize the tactical military shooter genre. Over the last two decades,theRainbow Sixserieshas evolved quite a bit, taking its team of highly-skilled counter-terrorists across the globe, and across different eras of conflict. Nowadays, theRainbow Sixbrand is associated most with the multiplayer team-based gameRainbow Six Siege, which has remained immensely popular for over seven years now. But despiteSiege’s popularity, it might be time for theRainbow Sixseries to return to its single-player roots.
It’s no secret that Ubisoft is in a bit of a tight spot right now. Despite having huge series likeAssassin’s Creedunder its belt, Ubisoft is struggling to capture the market with any of its other IPs, and its slew of recent cancelations and delays is only further evidence that the publisher is in troubled waters. But there’s one IP sitting right under its nose that’s capable of filling several niches in the market, and that’sRainbow Six.
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It Might Be Time for a New Single-Player Rainbow Six Game
Theoriginal 1998Rainbow Sixgameis an infamously difficult, but rewarding title. One of the first shooters of its kind,Rainbow Sixputs an emphasis on team management, and careful tactics. Players aren’t only controlling their own character, but also an entire squad of elite counter-terrorists. Players need to issue specific commands to each team member and carefully consider each move before executing because just one bullet can be enough to take them out and end the mission abruptly.
While it may sound a little frustrating for modern audiences, the original set ofRainbow Sixgames filled a niche in the market, and was one of the best to do so. Many fans longed for a realistic, methodical shooter as opposed to brazen action set pieces, andRainbow Sixprovided exactly that. As the series went on, new entries would start to get a little more action-focused, liketheRainbow Six: Vegasseries, but they still retained a decent level of squad-based on-the-fly tactics, and that type of gameplay isn’t often seen today.
WhileRainbow Six Siegeis a multiplayer game, it does carry over a lot of the essence of the originalRainbow Sixseries. Tactics and planning still play a massive role in competitiveSiegegameplay, with teams needing to match their Operators to harness specific combinations of abilities and weapons. Communication is also key, and the high level of difficulty can still be found, withSiegehaving an incredibly low time-to-kill. But when all is said and done,Rainbow Six Siegejust isn’t a single-player game, and it just doesn’t scratch the same itch that the original games could.
For a while, Ubisoft had a long-running tactical shooter franchise inGhost Recon, and naturally, it made sense to pivotRainbow Sixinto a new multiplayer format. However,theGhost Reconfranchiseis looking a little worse for wear now, with the last few entries in the series all blending into one same-y Ubisoft-brand open-world slog. A gap in Ubisoft’s market has just opened up, and a single-playerRainbow Sixgame should fill it. The groundwork for a single-playerRainbow Sixgame has already been laid, all Ubisoft would need to do is take some of the Operators fromSiege, put some modern AI behind them, and let players command them through a series of scenarios. The money’s right there on the table.
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