Rainbow Six devs reconsidering night maps after community appeal

Night maps were once a staple of Rainbow Six Siege, but Ubisoft removed them in 2019 due to gameplay concerns. However, after plenty of community appeal, the developers are reconsidering their stance ⁠— but there’s a catch.

Once upon a time in Rainbow Six, every map had a night variant. The after dark battlegrounds featured grungy lighting and had an interesting vibe around them that resonated with players.

However, they were removed slowly across a year ⁠— first from ranked queues in 2018 due to “competitive gameplay” concerns, then all together in Operation Ember Rise come late 2019. They were only made available through custom games, but even that’s gone.

Their removal sparked a bit of controversy, especially in the casual community who liked the different feel. While some maps feature darker lighting like the rainy skies of Hereford Base, players want both sunny days and starry nights in their Siege battlegrounds.

This community appeal has led Ubisoft to reconsider their stance.

“Whenever we choose to make a night map, we need to ensure that it’s well-lit to ensure the most balanced and competitive environment possible,” the developers stated in an April 29 AMA. “It doesn’t matter whether a future map is night or day, but the lighting of the map needs to offer fair play.”

• Read More: Ubisoft reveals Emerald Plains map started as a Bartlett rework

If they can make the gameplay fair, they’ll add nighttime variants. However, this open door comes with a slight catch: past maps won’t be getting reskins, and it’ll only be future maps that return after dark.

“We don’t have plans to turn past maps into night maps, but we aren’t closing the door to future maps,” the developers concluded.

While there’s no time frame or guarantee, with three Siege maps in development across Year 7, including the recently-released Emerald Plains, there could be more on this front in the months and years to come.