Ubisoft changes stance on Rainbow Six: Siege's cheaper standard edition

Consider this one a win for the avid fans of Rainbow Six: Siege. The game's player community became immensely frustrated after developer Ubisoft revealed on Thursday that it was raising the price of the two-year old Siege by $20 in order to account for new loot boxes, alongside doing way with the $40 Standard Edition of the title. Ubisoft has stated that it's heard the feedback, and will be keeping the cheaper version of the game around for new players.

The two key changes to Rainbow Six: Siege that were revealed last week consisted of the following: The upcoming Outbreak event would see the addition of cosmetic loot boxes that can mostly be acquired solely through real money purchases; and that each edition of the game would see a $20 price increase to account for the 10 free loot boxes given to new players.

Players were widely upset with both of these moves, as it meant those who had already been playing for some time would miss out on the 10 additional loot boxes, and those who had yet to buy the game suddenly needed to pay $20 more for cosmetics they may not be interested in. Fortunately, Ubisoft made a post on the Rainbow Six subreddit announcing that the same $40 Standard Edition that's available today would not be going away after the February 13th price increase.

The other versions of the game will still be seeing their prices changes, with the Gold Edition (which includes the Year 3 content pass plus the 10 loot boxes) increasing from $70 to $90, and the Complete Edition (includes all Year 1 and 2 content with 10 loot boxes) rising from $110 to $130. It's not clear if Ubisoft will still make the new $60 Advanced Edition available, or if that package has been called off entirely.

Veteran players will also be getting something extra. The developer added that all existing players would receive a free Ash Sidewinder Elite skin at the start of the game's Year 3 Season 1. This applies to anyone who plays an online match between now and March 6th. This free skin isn't quite on par with 10 free cosmetics, but it's still a decent first step at making things right with the game's dedicated fanbase.

SOURCE Ubisoft/Reddit