Everything we know about Rainbow Six Extraction

Rainbow Six Extraction is an upcoming tactical co-op shooter in which up to three players can team up as Operatives from the Rainbow Six Siege universe to take on an alien threat. An infection from another world has come to Earth, and it’s mutating everyone it touches. Nests are popping up across the US, and it’s down to Rainbow Six to contain them no matter what. This guide covers every detail we know about the game from the Ubisoft Forward event at E3 2021.

What are the aliens in Rainbow Six Extraction?

The alien enemies in Rainbow Six Extraction are called Archaens. This species is an evolved form of the infection first detected in Rainbow Six Siege’s Quarantine event in 2018. Since then, the infection has spread and changed to produce weird and interesting enemy variants for players to battle against.

Each containment zone is continuously evolving, with enemies changing each time players venture in. The nests will react to a player’s presence through the spread of Sprawl, a black goo that covers walls and floors. Archaens can move quickly through it, while it slows Operators down. Destroying a nest will kill off the Sprawl but might also draw unwanted attention.

Other enemies include the Spiker, a long-range shooter, the Breacher, an explosive enemy that will run towards enemies and detonate itself to spray out sharp spikes, the Tormentor, which shape shifts and focuses on sharp melee attacks, and the Apex, a stronger foe that summons more Archaens to its location.

Within the gameplay video Ubisoft showed, we also saw Grunts, basic Archaens that batter Operators in large numbers, Rooters, which can pin Operators on the spot and proceed to deal damage to them, Smashers, hulking masses of armor that pack more of a punch than any other Archaen, and Lurkers, which can make other Archaens invisible, creating much more of a threat in any area.

The final Archaen we saw was the Tormentor. This enemy uses the Sprawl as a way to move around undetected, bursting upwards to knock Operators to the floor and shooting projectiles when cornered.

New Operator gadgets

To combat this alien threat, Operators have new skills and gadgets at their disposal. For example, the React Light highlights bioluminescent properties in Archaens, allowing you to see weak points or track enemies through walls easily. Since this game is based on Rainbow Six Siege, you can shoot through walls to kill enemies or smash through them to gain a tactical advantage.

The React Blade is a useful tool for killing Archaens quietly and gathering data simultaneously. It records DNA as you kill each enemy. Barricades are still a presence in this title, but they’re used more to help players make the most of other gadgets, such as the React Mine, which fires at enemies as they approach. You can also place a React Threat Sensor to detect any incoming enemies in areas you’re not focusing on at the time.

Three rounds per match

Each match in Rainbow Six Extraction has three rounds. While we don’t know how the objectives will change between each, we do know that stealth is key. You’ll be sneaking through an area trying to take out nests without alerting the enemies infesting the area. There are airlocks between each round, providing players with a chance to restock ammo and supplies or finish the match with the intel they’ve already captured.

The final rounds of a match task players with taking down a boss, a high-tier enemy with special abilities. This is by far the toughest mission in the game that we’ve seen, making it even harder to choose in the moment whether to persevere or quit while you’re ahead.

You lose everything upon death

Everything you gain in a match can be lost at any time. If you die, all of your intel and progress from the current match disappears. This is why it’s important to decide if you want to end the match in the first or second airlock. If you do, you’ll make it out with something, but pushing on could see you leave with nothing to show for all of your efforts.

Crossplay

Ubisoft has confirmed that all players, no matter their platform, will be able to play Rainbow Six Extraction together. Crossplay is a planned feature for inclusion on the day of release, September 16, 2021.

Which Operators from Rainbow Six Siege will be in Rainbow Six Extraction?

Ubisoft has made no clarification as to which Operations from Rainbow Six Siege will be playable in Rainbow Six Extraction. However, from the footage shown and details given so far, it appears as though all Operators from Siege will appear in Extraction. While their gadgets and weapons might be tweaked to fit the Extraction universe, all Operators will be present in the new game.

What happens when a player dies in Rainbow Six Extraction?

When a player dies in a round, their Operator is put into stasis foam and captured. The player who died in the role of that Operator will then need to take on an extraction mission to rescue the Operator. The Operator will be unplayable until they do this. It sounds like you’ll be able to opt to take on an extraction mission within a match if a player dies, but that it’ll also be possible to take these missions on outside of the current match. In this way, the penalty for death is much greater.

Price and post-launch support

No details have been provided on the price or model that Rainbow Six Extraction will follow. Given that Rainbow Six Siege has now moved to a season pass model instead of a year pass one, it’s likely that this game will do the same. Ubisoft has a lot of experience with live games now, meaning that this title could either be priced low to avoid the full-price barrier to entry or be free-to-play. Of course, there will be season passes, paid cosmetic bundles, and much more to generate a worthwhile revenue stream for the company and help support the game’s ongoing development.