Ubisoft recently announced its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2020. There is a strong growth for the tactical shooter Rainbow Six Siege visible, continuing over the years. This shows: The approach to treating the game as a service game is working.
What is the current status of Rainbow Six? In Ubisoft’s latest quarterly results, Rainbow Six: Siege stands out as one of the major winners. According to the company’s figures, the shooter has increased its revenue by a whopping 30 % compared to the same period last year. It is said to have continued to grow “despite rising competition.”
Siege is thus clearly one of the biggest winners at Ubisoft, along with Assassin’s Creed (60 % across the entire franchise) and Just Dance (500 % across the entire franchise). At the same time, the company can report a record in player engagement and the number of players in the quarter.
The total revenue of the company in the first quarter is 410 million euros. The primary platform is the PlayStation 4 (34 % of the revenue), overtaking the PC, which was in first place at the same time last year.
What is driving the growth? There could be several reasons for Rainbow Six’s current success. On the one hand, the current Corona crisis is certainly playing a role. Many who have to stay home simply want to play.
Additionally, Rainbow Six has built a successful eSports scene that attracts thousands of viewers to many tournaments. Currently, the GSA League for the German-speaking region is underway, entertaining fans from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
The biggest point, however, may be that Rainbow Six is receiving strong support as a service. Since its release in December 2015, it has continuously been polished and expanded.
Rainbow Six shows: Service pays off
This is how Rainbow Six is supported: Ubisoft has been continuously supporting Rainbow Six for nearly 5 years, providing it with new content and fixing bugs. It is consistently being improved to deliver a great experience to players.
From the initially 21 operators at launch, it has now grown to 57 – the latest two are Ace and Melusi from Season 2 of Year 5. The next two operators are already in the works and seem to bring skills that could be straight out of action movies.
New maps are being added along with regular events and battle passes that provide players with new, fresh content and encourage them to spend a bit more time in Rainbow Six. Even existing content is continuously refined:
- the operator Tachanka, one of the first and weakest, is getting a rework
- Recruit, the beginner operator, has become significantly stronger
- the map House has gotten a rework with Y5S2 and now plays more fluidly
There are also already some ideas for the future. Rainbow Six is set to receive the highly praised ping system from Apex Legends, making communication in the game easier.
What problems still exist? Despite the polishing of the game over the years, there are still numerous issues that have been long-standing concerns for players. The hit feedback, for example, is not as reliable as it should be for a shooter. Hits are sometimes simply not counted.
Additionally, there are recurring reports of strong toxicity in the community. While it does not necessarily seem to be more pronounced than in other shooters, it constantly causes discontent. For instance, a player was kicked from the match despite saving his team. For some, this is a sign of poor player behavior in general.
Sexism as a shadow over the figures
In the middle of the report on the quarterly figures, a statement from the company regarding sexual harassment appears. Ubisoft apparently wants to take a firmer stance against this and has already implemented several measures due to existing problems, which are detailed in the report:
- numerous investigations into this issue are currently underway
- the composition and organization of certain departments have been revised to improve teamwork
- some restructuring is meant to ensure that inappropriate behavior is better prevented, detected, or sanctioned
- the position of “Head of Workplace Culture” has been filled and there is a new position, the “Head of Diversity and Inclusion”
In this way, Ubisoft responds to the recent intense allegations of sexism that were exacerbated by an insider report.
