Ubisoft has updated its esports program for Rainbow Six Siege to include a regionalised format, starting mid-June.
The update will include regional programs for Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America — each of which will have its own competitive structure.
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Each year will now be considered a season and split into quarters, with the first three counting as “stages.” Each of the these three stages will wrap up with its own Major where the top four teams from each region compete among each other. The fourth and final stage will see each region have its own finals and relegations, with the top teams making it to the Six Invitational.
The update has been made to create a “stronger focus on local particularities and an increased diversity in the different choices of esports programs.”
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Ubisoft has also updated its revenue-sharing program for Rainbow Six Siege esports. The third phase of the initiative will include 44 teams from across all four regions and will run for the next four years. It will have three tiers to “adapt both revenue shares and requirements to the organization’s variable situations.”
The organisations that are selected to participate in Phase 3 will be assessed every three months and ranked among the other teams in their tiers – on viewership, player support, and in-game revenue generated – to decide on promotions and relegations within the system. 30 percent of net revenue from branded in-game items will be distributed among these organisations.
Esports Insider says: Ubisoft has done an incredible job building Rainbow Six Siege into a solid esports title and these plans seem like a big forward step for the game’s ecosystem. Supporting teams from four major regions is a great move and, if decided fairly, the revenue-sharing programme should be an initiative that other titles consider moving forward.