Nine years after release, and Rainbow Six Siege will soon feature cross-play between PC and console. The feature will launch with the Year 9 Season 4 update on December 3, alongside anticheat updates to try and contend with PC cheaters.
Starting December 3, console players can join the PC player pool freely. That being said, PC players won’t be able to join the console matchmaking pool. If you’re in a party with at least one PC player, the group will be moved to the PC pool. For console users who play ranked playlists with cross-play active, they’ll maintain a PC rank separate from the console rank.
💥 The full crossplay experience is coming to Siege in Operation Collision Point!
🎮 Console players, get ready to squad up with your PC pals.
Starting in Y9S4, you’ll be able to choose to matchmake into PC lobbies as a console player.
🖥️ Will you be playing in the PC pool? pic.twitter.com/0m0Do4WsFU— Rainbow Six Siege (@Rainbow6Game) November 17, 2024
Adding cross-play to a game that’s almost a decade old demands some considerations, and the matchmaking quirks aren’t the only ones. Developer Ubisoft is implementing anticheat updates to improve cheater detection to “ensure fairness” once cross-play comes in. As such, players with a Mousetrap Penalty, which is aimed at preventing console players from using mouse and keyboard, will be forced into the PC matchmaking pool for 90 days.