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Rainbow Six Extraction builds upon the success of Rainbow Six Siege, and though it’s been seven years, fans get a new entry into the franchise. Instead of being its own game, this is a spin-off of Rainbow Six Siege, and many elements of it will seem familiar.
While it is familiar, there are some significant differences fans need to be aware of going in, so they aren’t disappointed when they play it on Game Pass day one.
1) Rainbow Six Extraction is not a PVP game
Unlike Rainbow Six Siege, which is built on intense esports action, Rainbow Six Extraction is a three-player tactical co-op PVE game. It is a stealth game where tactical skills are rewarded. Players will battle with aliens and complete missions while levelling up their operators.
As the game is balanced around PVE and cooperative gameplay, players cannot expect ever to see PVP in this game. Teamwork makes the dream work, so no PVP going into this game.
2) How does gameplay work?
Players work in groups of three to defeat the enemy aliens, known as Archaeans, through stealth and tactical manoeuvres. The objectives of each map are randomized and will change between gameplays, requiring players to change how they approach a map in the future.
Each map has three submaps and is linked via an airlock. Players can choose to go on to the next submap or extract instead. Extracting early means everyone survives, but the rewards are diminished.
Moving on gives more significant challenges and rewards, but there is a catch. Your operators retain the damage, and if they’re downed on a map, they get captured by the Aliens. If you want to play as that operator again, you have to return to the map in question and complete a rescue mission.
3) There will be 18 operators at launch
Rainbow Six Extraction will have 18 operators going at launch, and they should all feel familiar to fans of Rainbow Six Siege. Of course, there are some changes to their kits. This is because many abilities require the operators to fight each other.
Instead, their kits have been adjusted to fight this new alien menace instead of singling out other operators for elimination. At launch, the following operators will be playable:
- Albi
- Capitao
- Doc
- Ela
- Finka
- Fuze
- Gridlock
- Hibana
- IQ
- Jager
- Lion
- Nomad
- Pulse
- Rook
- Smoke
- Sledge
- Tachanka
- Vigil
This allows for plenty of choices and ways to play the game, and fans of Siege will no doubt see their favourites here.
4) There will be cross-progression and crossplay supported at launch but not local co-op
While Rainbow Six Extraction is available on day one on Game Pass. It will also be on Windows (Ubisoft Connect/Epic Games Store), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Luna, and Stadia. This means players will want to play with as many people as possible and may want to play on other platforms.
Luckily, cross-progression and crossplay will be available and fully supported for the game. This should allow as many players to work together to defeat the alien menace that has now threatened mankind. This is fantastic news. Unfortunately, it will not support split-screen/local co-op. Players will have to meet up online to play Extraction together.
5) There will be microtransactions and Battle Passes
Rainbow Six Extraction is a “live-service” game, so players will have a wealth of extra content to explore. This means several seasons of content, Battle Passes for cosmetics, and new maps. Players can also look forward to limited-time events and extra operators post-launch.
The cost of this various content has not been revealed yet as live-service games tend to have online stores where players can purchase optional content. Players who buy the game will also receive a pair of Buddy Passes that grant a 14-day free trial of the game for people who aren’t sure if they want to dive in yet.
The game launches on January 20, 2022, and will be available on all of the above platforms at launch.
