On the precipice of GTA VI‘s launch, Ubisoft has deployed extensive patch notes for Rainbow Six Siege, and promised players who stick around during GTA VI‘s launch handsome rewards.
The release of GTA VI is full steam ahead, and unlike the games that have delayed or moved their release dates, Ubisoft has decided to confront the elephant entering the room on Nov. 19, 2026. Ubisoft understands that GTA VI will absorb a huge portion of gaming’s player base and has started offering “incentives” (or bribes) to keep fans invested in Rainbow Six Siege during release season. Not only that, Ubisoft has also uncorked a whole torrent of patch notes, dubbed the Y11S3.1 update, to keep operator balance up to snuff and polish gameplay as a whole.
Currently, no other big game release aside from the massive The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, is in the orbit of GTA VI’s release date, and Ubisoft is trying to get ahead of the competition.
In an interview with The Game Business, Creative Director of Rainbow Six Siege, Joshua Mills, said, “It doesn’t matter what genre you’re in – you’re going to take a hit when that drops,” regarding the impending release of GTA VI, adding, “People are going to play it, and then they’ll come back. Heck, all of us are going to play it. It’s about being smart with your expectations so you can keep the team and HQ aligned. If the team sees player numbers dip, they can get anxious, but it’s generally temporary.”
🧊 New Black Ice variants have been added to Alpha Packs for a limited time! Open yours for a chance to get a green or purple variant, from September 22nd to October 13th pic.twitter.com/rIcpDgtND6
— Rainbow 6 (@Rainbow6Game) September 22, 2026
In that same notion, Mills promised that Rainbow Six Siege development will not “go on vacation,” he said they will “double down and reward those spending their valuable time with us.” Thats not to say that Rainbow Six Siege may offer ‘gameplay incentives’ to players who stick around. Mills puts it plainly, people who stick around for Rainbow Six Siege during GTA VI‘s launch will be served “like kings and queens”. So far, Ubisoft is the first ongoing game to address GTA VI, and they’re doing it by offering (still unknown) player incentives.
Season Four kicks off just after GTA VI‘s launch. Mills promises “We actually have some unannounced surprises held back to make a splash,” when the season starts on December 1, 2026. Whether Rainbow Six Siege will see a decline in November is purely speculative until it happens, or doesn’t.