Ubisoft will be kicking off a third year of new content updates for Rainbow Six Siege once 2018 comes around, and something that will be included in the first season of the year three content plan is a new co-op event called ‘Outbreak.’ While we don’t yet know exactly what Outbreak is, Ubisoft has started teasing out clues via a new augmented reality gaming (or ARG) experience.
The entire thing began about a week ago when players on the Rainbow Six Siege PC-centric test server found a puzzle hidden in the testing environment and quickly managed to solve it. Ubisoft responded by posting this congratulatory tweet and then putting up a new teaser website which is cheekily called “RainbowLeaks”. Those who log into the RainbowLeaks website with their Uplay account can access a file page which contains texts and images that reference a new biological agent that can bond directly to a subject’s bones and improve their tolerance for pain.
The above tweet also says that the new RainbowLeaks website is just phase one of the new ARG experience, and that fans can expect a second phase in the near future. Again, it’s too early to tell, but it sure does sound like the Outbreak event will task players with going up against foes who have been biologically enhanced in some way, perhaps even to the point where death no longer keeps them from shambling around.
Rainbow Six Siege's first season of Year 3 content kicks off on March 6 with the release of Operation Chimera on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Chimera features two new Operators – Lion and Finka – who represent French and Russian counter-terrorism units, respectively, as biohazard specialists. Along with traditional, competitive Rainbow Six Siege multiplayer matches, these new Operators will see their weapons and gadgets put into action in Outbreak, a new four-week co-op event that starts March 6.
They won't be alone. Lion and Finka will be joined by Smoke, Ying, Buck, Kapkan, Ash, Doc, Tachanka, Glaz, and Recruit as playable Operators sent to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. The town has come under attack from extraterrestrial parasite – called the Apex – that has transformed much of the local population into horrific creatures, forcing the government to set up a quarantine zone around the town and prevent the spread of the parasite. A team of three Operators will be tasked with not only entering the quarantine zone, but also destroying the infestation at its source.
Outbreak will have two different difficulty settings: Normal and Pandemic. Both are designed to encourage communication and coordination to succeed against the Apex and the different types of monsters lurking in the quarantine zone, but Pandemic introduces stronger enemies and friendly fire, making positional awareness and communication all that much more necessary to complete an incredible challenge. Additionally, players will have to make smart use of barriers and fortifications to defend against an enemy that doesn't mind taking a few bullets as it rushes its target.
Three exclusive co-op levels will also be featured in Outbreak. Since these levels are designed from the ground up for the co-op experience, they're larger and more open than the game's competitive maps. Additionally, while they're designed to give players a clear sense of progression, these stages will retain Rainbow Six Siege's trademark destruction elements, creating opportunities for alternate paths and tactics when the situation calls for it.
Link to teaser video