Rainbow Six Siege's Year 5 Pass will only include six Operators, according to details contained in the 4.2 update and uncovered by Reddit user ignotusartifex. That's two fewer Operators than previous seasons have added to the game.  

The Year 5 Pass will net players six Operators with a seven-day headstart, exclusive customisation items, a 10 percent shop discount, 5 percent Renown boost, 0.3 percent Alpha Pack boost, 30 percent Battle Pass discount and a 30 percent Battle Points bonus. 

Previously, 600 credits were also included in the pass, but that doesn't appear to be the case this time, with the notification not mentioning any additional credits. It does appear to have lost some of its value, but the price of the pass may also reflect this. 

The pass isn't the only thing that's changing. Now that it's entered it's fifth year, the Rainbow Six Siege core team has decided to move on. Last month, creative director Xavier Marquis and brand director Alexandre Remy announced that they and others would be transitioning to new projects, leaving the game in the hands of a new team formed by developers who have already been working on the game. 

While the leak looks like the real deal, Ubisoft has yet to confirm the Year 5 Pass details, so changes could occur before it becomes available.

As Rainbow Six Siege enters its fifth year, Ubisoft has settled into a groove. The game’s recent batch of operators have been some its best and map reworks have redeemed traditionally hated maps in Ranked. I’m confident that it can keep this momentum, but I also hope Ubi is planning smaller quality-of-life changes as the Six Invitational approaches. What changes or additions should be expected for Year 5? We’ve seen some hints from a reliable leaker, but I’m also crossing my fingers for more in 2020.

A story

Status: Officially confirmedIn a recent interview, Ubisoft said that “story elements are going to be huge” for Siege in 2020. Expanding on the character bios that come with new operators, Year 5 will apparently have a storyline that continues through each season. A recent trailer for the Nighthaven cosmetic collection (watch it above) might be the kickoff to the story, sewing distrust between Ash and R6’s newest members, Kali and Wamai. The trailer is a little cheesy, but Siege’s lore works when it feels like modern-day G.I. Joe.

A real healer on attack

Status: Unconfirmed, but likelyNo, Finka’s temporary healing doesn’t count. Siege needs a real, dedicated medic that goes toe-to-toe with Doc and Rook’s armor plates. If a recent info dump from reliable Siege leaker Kormora is to be believed, Ubi is looking into an operator with a healing drone.

Healing drones aren’t a new idea: players have dreamt up their own versions of the concept for years. Healing teammates should require a bit of skill and strategy, as opposed to Finka’s dull global heal button. The post also says that Ubi wants to rework Finka into a “proper medic down the line,” which adds to the idea that the studio thinks attackers could use a true support role.

A Kool-Aid man

Status: Unconfirmed; extremely desirablePer the same leak, we can likely expect an operator that can burst through walls like the Kool-Aid man. That’s as specific as the leaker gets, but it’s worth taking seriously. Kormora’s source shared accurate info for every single Year 4 operator months before their official reveal. Maybe the theoretical charger carries a souped up version of Sledge’s hammer or a breach charge that doesn’t damage the user?

New secondary gadgets 

Status: Unconfirmed, but likelySecondary gadgets aren’t as flashy as spike traps or lasers, but they’re a potentially great way to balance the game without introducing new operators. According to the same Kormora leak mentioned above, a new “alarm” for defenders and a “small Thermite charge for attackers” are in the works. Siege hasn’t seen a new secondary gadget since the bulletproof camera was added in 2018, so it's been a long time coming. I think Ubi should go even further: add a micro EMP grenade for defenders or hole-patching kits.

Tachanka’s big rework

Status: Unconfirmed, but likelyThe Kormora leak is also the first we’ve heard about Tachanka’s rework in a long time. Kormora’s source says that Tachanka will “no longer need his turret,” which can be taken a few ways. Either his weapon has been replaced with something else, or his machine gun will be carried detached from its mount. As pointed out by Siege Youtuber Rogue 9, Tachanka was depicted in a recent Pro League trailer holding his iconic machine gun free of its tripod.

Alien zombies 

Status: Officially confirmedBarring further delays, Siege spin-off game Rainbow Six Quarantine is coming in 2020. Quarantine is a completely separate game based on Siege’s excellent co-op Outbreak event from Year 3. We haven’t heard much about it since June 2019, but it has a lot of potential to expand the Siege universe and fill a Left 4 Dead 3-shaped hole in my heart. 

Based on the reveal trailer, we know Siege operators will make cameos (Ela and Vigil come to the rescue of the trailer’s protagonist). Quarantine isn’t a sequel in the same way as the PvE-focused Overwatch 2, but I can’t help but wonder if the two games will someday become one.

Much-needed operator reworks

Status: UnlikelySiege has an annoyance problem. Too many ops carry gadgets that inflict harsh punishments without reasonable counters. Even if they don’t break the game, some gadgets just feel off. This is my shortlist for who the balance team should focus on this year.

• Lesion: Gu mines are significantly overpowered. The poison should wear off on its own, it shouldn’t prevent sprinting/planting the defuser, and the mine shouldn’t be invisible. Rework the Gu’s appearance and encourage clever placement to succeed.
• Doc: Doc’s role should be focused on supporting his team, but he’s instead the ultimate roamer. Make each stim heal less, but give him one more. Increase the range of the stim gun to encourage support uses. Give each shot a cooldown to limit self-healing potential.
• Nomad: For how powerful they are, airjabs don’t have a counter. If multiple entrances to a site are covered with airjabs, the defender is basically screwed. A delay to the detonation would give defenders a chance to dodge punishment.
• Blackbeard: His rifle-mounted shields are like two extra-life mushrooms strapped onto a gun. There’s nothing fun about that.
• Shield operators: It’s a shame that we still have to say this, but shield operators are busted. This should be the year that shields are addressed in a real way.

Then there are operators who need some tweaks to become viable. Nøkk’s silent step needs a faster cooldown on par with Caveira, Amaru needs more reasons to use her grapple hook (and it should be faster), and Warden deserves a better SMG to balance out his situational glasses.

A hole patcher

Status: UnconfirmedWe first heard about the fabled “hole blocker” gadget in 2018 when a fan datamined it from Siege’s code, but it has yet to materialize in-game. That’s a shame, because it’s a fantastic idea. A defender who can repair breached holes and walls could completely upend a meta that hasn’t seen drastic changes in a while. Imagine patching up Hibana’s breach holes on Chalet garage and preventing a defuser plant!

Reworks for Skyscraper, Fortress, or Chalet

Status: UnconfirmedThree maps that are almost good, but not quite. That makes them great candidates for a rework. Fix up the upstairs of Chalet, shrink down the mazes of Fortress, and demolish the hellish balconies of Skyscraper.

Favela retired for good

Status: UnlikelyGarbage maps belong in the garbage. Every time a Favela match is about to begin, half of the lobby just leaves.

One unified MMR, because two doesn’t work

Status: UnlikelyEvery Siege player has two separate MMR scores used to fairly matchmake you with players: one for Quick Match and one for Ranked. The idea is to separately judge skill in two different modes, but the main effect is terribly unbalanced matchmaking in Quick Match.

Since many high skill players stick to Ranked most of the time, their Quick Match MMR is low. As a result, I’m constantly matched against Platinum and Diamond players as a Gold 3. It’s hell. This could be avoided if the game only cared about your Ranked MMR (the best signifier of your skill level) and used it matchmake you everywhere. I’m tired of having to play Ranked to find a fair matchup.

Hereford Base Classic

Status: UnlikelyIt’s simple: take the old Hereford Base, slap “Classic” on the end of it, and add to the Quick Match playlist. It’s a good map! Much better than its replacement and definitely more deserving of a slot than Favela.

Contextual pinging, like Apex Legends

Status: UnlikelyApex’s ping wheel lets players convey a lot of information without the need for mics. Siege should borrow this idea and let players add a little context to their yellow pings. They don’t have to be extensive. Extra pings that mean “enemy spotted,” “reinforce this,” or “breach that” would be a godsend. Ubisoft likes the idea, but hasn’t committed to making it real.

Better reporting tools

Status: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯Siege’s reporting tools are lacking. You can report players for griefing, hacking, or abusive language, but you can’t add any context to your report. Worst of all, though, is that Ubi refuses to inform players if their report led to punitive action. This is a fundamental step in showing players that the system is working. Without that assurance, I can’t help but wonder if my reports are filed straight into a trashcan.

Accessibility features

Status: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯Ubisoft has a lot of room for improvement here. It’d be great to see the same attention paid to accessibility as Gears 5’s impressive suite of subtitle and voiceover options, but that seems unrealistic. Siege doesn’t still doesn’t have a basic feature for multiplayer games in 2020: colorblind mode. 

In the spirit of the holiday season, Ubisoft is giving away a Rainbow Six Siege operator, selected at random, to everyone who logs into the game.

The tweet is very vague, but luckily this Reddit thread nails down the details. Giveaway operators will be taken from the Year 1 through Year 4 expansions, but not the base game. That means you'll get one of:

• Buck
• Frost
• Blackbeard
• Valkyrie
• Capitão
• Caveira
• Hibana
• Echo
• Jackal
• Mira
• Ying
• Lesion
• Dokkaebi
• Vigil
• Zofia
• Lion
• Finka
• Maestro
• Alibi
• Maverick
• Clash
• Nomad
• Kaid
• Gridlock
• Mozzie
• Nøkk
• Warden
• Amaru
• Goyo
• Kali
• Wamai

That's a whole lot of operators to pick from. You can learn more about all of them (except Kali and Wamai, who are very recent additions) in our very handy Rainbow Six Siege Operators Guide. And what if you've already got all of these operators in your stable? In that case, you get this festively hideous (hideously festive?) Montagne outfit. 

(Ugly, yes, but also exclusive: Ubisoft said that the skin "can only be acquired through the packs as a special gift for players that have unlocked all Operators.")

The free operator offer is good until January 5, and you don't need to worry about horsing around with the pack menu or anything in order to get it: As long as you log in by that date, it will be added to your account. If the operator (or skin) doesn't appear in your account, try re-logging and it should turn up.

In November, Ubisoft said that it wants Rainbow Six Siege, a game about mix-and-match squads of soldiers and cops from around the world killing each other in a variety of scenarios for no particular reason, to have more of a story in 2020. To me, that seems like asking for a whole lot of unnecessary complication: Once you add "plot" to the mix, sooner or later you're going to have to explain why the Spetsnaz guy is hooked up with the Scotland Yard copper to shoot at another Spetsnaz guy and a French microbiologist.

That does seem to be the way it's going, though. Operation Shifting Tides, the final season of Siege Year Four, went live a couple of weeks ago with two new operators who, in a break from previous updates, are not part of a real-world special operations force or law enforcement agency. Instead, Kali and Wamai are members of the Nighthaven, a mercenary group based out of India.

Officially, Nighthaven was invited to join Rainbow Six after successfully stopping the hijacking of a supertanker. But the real reason, apparently, is to keep it from being hired by an opposing organization—and also to keep Kali and Wamai close at hand, where they can be more easily monitored. Not everyone is enthusiastic about the idea, though, especially the Rainbow Six soldiers who earn a tiny fraction of what Nighthaven mercs make, and have no say over what jobs they take on. Understandable, I suppose.

I think it's interesting that Ubisoft now seems to be wholeheartedly embracing the more cartoonish, GI Joe aspects of Rainbow Six Siege, which naturally mandates a move to a more fiction-focused approach. After four years of expansions and additions, has it finally run out of credible special forces groups to draw from? I suppose it's possible that Ubi is angling toward some trenchant commentary on the rise of "private military companies" and the roles they play in maintaining and even instigating our far-away proxy wars, but I'm pretty sure that the smart money is on some kind of Cobra Commander cameo.

Anyway, back to the point. Much like Nighthaven's employment contract, the Nighthaven trailer serves dual purposes: It's a cinematic introduction to a pair of new operators, but it also promotes the Nighthaven Collection of premium cosmetics that went live today. Available until January 6, the collection will offer 18 customization items—three each for Alibi, Fuze, IQ, Jackal, Mute, and Rook. Nighthaven packs can be purchased for 300 R6 Credits or 12500 Renown, and all players will be given one free pack when they log in. Details are up at ubisoft.com.

After four years, Rainbow Six Siege's core team is moving on, though still staying at Ubisoft. Creative director Xavier Marquis, brand director Alexandre Remy and other members of the team will be hopping onto new projects, leaving the game in the hands of a new squad of Rainbow Six Siege veterans. 

Before it launched, the prospect of a multiplayer-only online Rainbow Six seemed to hold little appeal for fans of the series, myself included, but it quickly proved itself to be as tense and inventive as its singleplayer counterparts, and completely unlike most other competitive multiplayer games. It's had a great run under Marquis, and Ubisoft is adamant that it's here to stay. 

Remy described it as passing a legacy onto the new team in a video announcement. It's led by Leroy Athanassoff, who was lead designer on For Honor before he joined Rainbow Six Siege. While it's a new core team, they're not new to Rainbow Six Siege, having worked on the game for some time. 

Siege relied heavily on Marquis and the original team during the early days, according to the former creative director, but it's grown better and larger, in great part thanks to the community, and now it's more than just their vision.

"Today we need to prepare new developers, new people, new teams to be able to embrace that," he said. "It's crucial to the very existence of the game."

Athanassoff also shared the team's goals for Rainbow Six Siege now that the transition has happened.

"We will start expanding the 'game universes,'" he said. "If you look at player experience, we need to stop thinking about exclusive features and start implementing inclusive features instead. What I mean is that we need to deliver content that will impact every player and the whole community."

Specific changes and new features weren't mentioned, but generally it sounds like they're aiming for broader, more holistic updates. I'm a bit out of the loop these days, though I've been following the big updates, but at the four year mark a shake-up is probably a good thing.

Somehow, Rainbow Six Siege is already four years old. For almost all of that time,  Siege's precise gunplay and meaningful seasonal updates have kept my attention. As Ubisoft closes the book on Siege Year 4, let's  take inventory of how the game evolved in 2019 and what that could mean for 2020.

With Pick & Ban, Ranked is in a better place

When Ranked came out of beta and received Pick & Ban in Season 2, competitive Siege instantly got more interesting. Banning four operators before the match begins changes the way a map is typically played. Without Thatcher or Kali, defenders can confidently lock down Consulate Garage. Without Mira or Echo, Coastline’s Penthouse is a cakewalk for attackers. Though, Siege has a lurking problem that often spoils the fun of Pick & Ban: everyone bans the same operators.

...but Ubisoft should take a hard look at frustrating operators

Siege has an annoyance problem. There are far too many operators whose gadgets carry large punishments for small crimes: operators like the footprint-tracking Jackal, invisible trap-leaving Lesion, or every shield operator (because they’re busted). The same annoying operators are banned in every match, and Ubisoft should really take notice.

No elite operative wants to worry about invisible traps or clumsy shield combat. Given the opportunity, many ranked players instantly remove them from the game. There are too many gadgets that punish players without a proper chance at counterplay. This has to change, both for our collective sanity and if Pick & Ban is ever going to serve its true purpose. Jackal’s recent rework is a step forward, but there’s a long list that needs addressing.

If I can indulge myself for a moment, here’s a radical balancing wishlist I’d love to see happen someday:

• Lesion’s Gu mines are smaller, but not cloaked. They don’t prevent sprinting, and the poison wears off after 8 seconds
• Jackal can’t scan footprints anymore. He doesn’t need to, seeing them is powerful enough to root out roamers.
• Shields have to go, at least until they fulfill a different purpose. They’re too inconsistent and frustrating to play against.
• Echo’s Yokai drones can’t cloak. Instead, they’re smaller and have more health.

Siege now feels more like G.I. Joe than Tom Clancy, and it’s great

Siege has been drifting away from reality and into sci-fi with its gadgets, but Year 4 is when Ubi fully embraced Siege as its own Rainbow Six universe. Back in March, Siege’s first animated short film hit the reset button on the gruff tone the game launched with in 2015.

Rainbow’s new leader, Dr. Harishva “Harry” Pandey, is a gentle soul who represents a more thoughtful future for Siege. Deep within operator bios, you can read Harry’s notes on their personalities and motivations. Even if we only interact with Siege through spawn peeks and headshots, Harry nudges players to see this version of Rainbow Six as something better than its macho military source material: a band of diverse heroes with idealistic goals and fantastical gadgetry.

It’s almost 2020, and Siege still doesn’t have a colorblind mode

Last we checked, Ubisoft is not working on a colorblind mode for Siege. Meanwhile, colorblind players have been begging Ubisoft for accommodations since launch. In 2019, Siege stands out among other triple-A multiplayer games for missing this basic feature.

Limited-time events were fun, but inconsistent

Between Rainbow Is Magic, Showdown, Doktor’s Curse, and Casa De Papel, limited-time events became a regular thing for Siege this year. Even though they exist to sell premium cosmetics you can only reasonably get with real money, a few were genuine fun. Showdown stripped away full-auto weapons for tense Old West shootouts while Doktor’s Curse played like Siege through the lens of Dead By Daylight.

Given time, the events team can pull off good stuff. Unfortunately, the same time obviously wasn’t given for the Netflix-partnered Casa De Papel event, which was just a shoddy match of Hostage to show off the paid cosmetics. If Siege will have both big and small events going forward, Ubi should set expectations ahead of time.

There are more ways than ever to throw money at Siege

Between the Year Pass ($30), paid Renown boosters ($1 to $45), $15 Elite skins, real money-only Alpha Packs, and now a likely $10 Battle Pass, Siege has more monetary strings than ever. The game consistently makes a lot of money for Ubisoft, so it’s a little surprising that Siege hasn’t followed in CS:GO's footsteps and gone free-to-play. Ubi reported that the Doktor’s Curse event had the “strongest revenue-per-session ratio since the Outbreak expansion,” so the premium cosmetic model is clearly working.

Year 4’s operators are some of my favorites in years

It’s been a strong year for new Siege operators. Year 4 delivered eight new faces: Gridlock and Mozzie, Nøkk and Warden, Amaru and Goyo, and newest pair, Kali and Wamai. I’m impressed at the balance of roles that Ubisoft brought to the game this year, focusing both on completely new ideas and existing ones that are remixed in unique ways. Not every op feels up to snuff (Amaru and Nøkk need a lot of love), but I’ve had a blast.

On defense, Wamai and Mozzie are highlights. Wamai’s Mag-NET trap is a smart alternative to Jager’s ADS that encourages you to think deliberately about the geometry and angles of Siege's maps to turn attacker's grenades against them. Mozzie is the most interesting take on the counter intel role, hacking drones to strengthen your team’s camera network. Most importantly, both have powerful weapons to balance out gadgets that might not make a difference every round.

Kali is something new entirely: a sniper with a 12x zoom scope attached to a rifle that downs in a single body shot. She’s hard to manage at close range, but her rifle has already opened up some new lanes for attackers.

Exhibit A:

In Year 4, old maps felt new again

My reaction was mixed when Ubi announced that Year 4 would have only one new map followed by three map reworks. One of Siege’s biggest hurdles for new and old players alike is learning the complex layouts of all 20 maps. Turns out, map reworks are a fantastic middle ground. Kafe Dostoyevsky, Kanal, and Theme Park have evolved into what feel like completely new maps while maintaining the parts that worked. I still want new maps, but I hope these renovations continue, particularly for Skyscraper or Fortress in 2020.

Bugs and exploits still plague Siege, but fixes come faster

It was a mixed year for technical problems in Siege. The community had the misfortune of two game-breaking exploits plaguing matches at the same time: a claymore bug that made IQ invisible and another that let Clash shoot while her shield protected her. We’ve come to expect these exploits to pop up once in a while, but Ubisoft acted quickly to mitigate the damage. Clash and claymores were disabled for a few weeks while Ubisoft worked on a permanent solution. It wasn’t elegant, but it was much better than dealing with a broken game for weeks.

Ubisoft still doesn’t do enough to curb toxicity

Reverse friendly fire has helped reduce griefing, but the communication side of Siege is still a mess. Players still aren’t notified when a report they submit leads to disciplinary action. Reports are limited to a series of buttons that don’t let you add context. The whole process is opaque and I never know if my reports are doing any good, unlike CS:GO's player-operated Overwatch cheater review system, which left beta in 2015. Ubisoft recently experimented with throwing out cross-team chat to discourage toxic chatter, but intense fan feedback steered the dev toward making it optional. Disabling chat misses the point: there are better ways to moderate (look at Blizzard’s progress with Overwatch), Ubisoft just isn’t doing them.

Rainbow Six Quarantine is coming

Rainbow Six Quarantine, the standalone spin-off based on Siege’s Outbreak event, is coming sometime in 2020. On its own, Quarantine could be the Left 4 Dead 2 sequel we never got with new Siege lore for dedicated fans. But with Path of Exile 2 and Overwatch 2, we’re entering an age of weird sequels that overlap with their predecessors. How will our Siege careers and cosmetics transfer into Quarantine? If the trend continues, Ubisoft might someday merge its co-op and competitive offerings into a cohesive product.