Rainbow Six Siege X: Free vs Premium access differences explored

After its June 10, 2025, release, Rainbow Six Siege X is going free-to-play across all platforms. This massive change comes right as we step into the new era in Ubisoft's premier shooter. This Esports title has been around since 2015 and is stepping into its tenth running year.

To commemorate this achievement, Ubisoft decided to introduce Siege X as a promise to take this title forward for ten more years.

While doing so, they have decided to separate two tiers of access for Siege X. The primary aim behind this decision is accessibility to a wider audience, while making sure Ranked mode doesn't suffer the negative consequences of a free-to-play model.

This article will go over the basic differences between Rainbow Six Siege X's free and premium tiers of access.

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Free vs Premium access in Rainbow Six Siege X

These two new access modes aim to reach a wider audience while making sure the current ranked players do not suffer the consequences of mass free-to-play accounts flooding the game servers. Let us go over the basic differences of the Free and Premium tiers of access in Rainbow Six Siege X:

Features	Free Access	Premium Access
Quick Play	YES	YES
Dual Front	YES	YES
Unranked game modes	YES	YES
26 Operators (more to unlock)	YES	YES
Ranked mode	NO	YES
Siege Cup	NO	YES
Instant access to more operators	NO	YES

The Premium Access is the only tier that allows players to queue in the Ranked game mode and Siege Cup. This allows Ubisoft to discourage smurfing and enables them to tackle cheaters without having to worry about new free-to-play accounts that they can create.

Also read: Siege X system requirements revealed for PC and console

Siege X introduces new free-to-play access (Image via Ubisoft)

Thanks to the Free Access tier, players can invite their friends who did not own a copy of Rainbow Six Siege prior to June 10, 2025, and queue into Quick play, Unranked, Dual Front game modes, and more. When new Free Access R6 players feel like they are ready for some serious action and want to participate in the Ranked game mode, they will be required to purchase the Premium Access version from their preferred game launcher.

As for operator access, the Free tier will offer 26 operators which includes Recruit, Pathfinders and some Year 1 ops. Other than that, more operators are unlockable later by playing the game. For Premium tier however, more operators will be accesible instantly.

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About the author

Sankalpa is a gaming journalist at Sportskeeda who specializes in role-playing games (RPGs) and first-person shooters (FPS). A trained IT engineer, he switched his career to combine his passion for computer hardware and video games. Having done early build testing for Redstorm Entertainment, Sankalpa brings a wealth of insight into his role at Sportskeeda. He actively plays the games he is tasked to cover and then writes unbiased, thoughtful, and accurate features.

Delta Force 1 was the first title Sankalpa played, and it ignited in him a lifelong love for the FPS genre. Currently, he prefers to play multiplayer games on his PC. That said, he would love to explore the majestic landscapes of Far Cry 4's Kyrat in person if he ever finds himself in a Jumanji-type scenario.

Sankalpa follows the esports scene of Rainbow Six quite closely, with he himself playing with and against T2 and T3 teams in R6 tournaments at one point. He enjoys watching the tactics employed by professional players, especially Pengu, a former G2 member and 2x Winner of Rainbow 6 Siege invitationals.

In his spare time, Sankalpa can be found listening to lossless music or editing YouTube videos. He also loves binge-watching anime.

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Edited by Ritoban "Veloxi" Paul