Rainbow Six Siege director Remy: ‘I’d say we did almost open heart surgery on the game’

We spoke to Remy in Montreal at Rainbow Six’s biggest esports event of the year, the Six Invitational, back in February. This interview appeared in our March issue, alongside this Rainbow Six feature you might want to check out, but you know, we’re not your boss or anything.

How do you feel Year Two has gone for Rainbow Six Siege?

Over the course of Year Two we’ve seen the player base growing at a tremendous rate. Every season it is not only new content coming in but also new players coming in. We are coming up to over 27m players and about ten million players logging in every month.

We’re seeing this growth in every region, on every platform, and it’s super rewarding as a feeling to see the game be loved this passionately – and also hated passionately, but it’s super cool.

It was a lot about investing in the core fundamentals of the technology, so I’d say we did almost open heart surgery on the game. This season, you will notice the content is cleaner, the release is better, so hopefully the quality of playing the game is improving every time.

Sustainability was the objective for Year Two. What is the aim for Year Three?

Thanks to Operation Health [a Year Two initiative that saw new content delayed so Ubisoft Montreal could address several issues with the game], we are approaching the game with a sense of serenity because those fundamentals are now set and we’re looking to growing the game to maturity.

Maturity in terms of what’s in the game, with our new additions, the map buff and rework and how we make our new and existing content as good as it can be, but also in terms of business as we ask how we sustain our game in the years to come.

Is there a challenge to reworking some of the older content in the game?

The first map rework is going to be Hereford Base, it is actually the oldest map that we built in the game and it was the first prototype of a map that was made by the team when developing and conceiving Siege.

So this is a map that we all love for all of these reasons, but at the same time it was the blueprint for everything else so it has all of the weaknesses of us being beginners.

We started to learn what Rainbow Six Siege was on that map so, obviously, looking back at it after all this time made us think about how we can make it more relevant.

We’ll be looking to take that approach eventually with all our our launch maps, and it’s something you’ve seen us do already with operators and items.

Are you and Ubisoft Montreal becoming increasingly comfortable with making more experimental content?

Yes, I think clearly we have started the year under the sign of disruption, Outbreak is a mode that takes the most iconic Rainbow Six Siege elements and turns them upside down. We had so much fun doing it, but clearly disrupting and bringing in new elements is going to be our bread and butter moving forward.

What is the one ethos that you have tried to hold on to while working on Siege?

One absolute belief I’ve had when it comes to developing the game and making it grow is the notion of building trust, and that comes with the passage of time. It takes time to build trust and it is the most essential aspect when you are working with anyone, whether that’s coworkers, or the game’s audience. The one thing that’s absolutely key for me is trust, and so I also want everyone to know we’re planning to be here for a long, long, time.