Ubisoft has said in a statement that they want to bring Rainbow Six: Siege to new Asian markets, particularly China. In the process, they are censoring some parts of the game for every region in the world. However, fans are unhappy with the changes that are being made just to please the Asian markets.
As Rainbow Six: Siege prepares for its Season 4 update for its third year; Ubisoft is also preparing to release the game to the Asian markets, especially for players in China.
The changes announced are mainly aesthetic changes that will remove some visual features in the game. The global version of the game will now remove violent elements like blood patches, skull imagery, and gambling references by removing slot machine, going far as removing sexual references by removing neon stripper lights in the famous Clubhouse map of the game.
Following the changes, fans are not happy with the changes that are going to be made. Questions are being raised as to why the aesthetic change would be required given the apparent confirmation that a split build will exist between territories after all.
Here is the statement from Ubisoft about the changes in the game:
We are currently working towards preparing Rainbow Six Siege for expansion into Asian territories. As such, there will be some adjustments made to our maps and icons to ensure compliance. None of these changes will have an impact on gameplay. We have examples of these changes at the bottom of the blog.
A SINGLE, GLOBAL VERSION
We want to explain why these changes are coming to the global version of the game, as opposed to branching and maintaining two parallel builds.
WE WANT TO STREAMLINE OUR PRODUCTION TIME TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY
By maintaining a single build, we are able to reduce the duplication of work on the development side. This will allow us to be more agile as a development team, and address issues more quickly.
WE WANT TO BE FUTURE PROOF
Having the same people working on a singular global version of the game ensures we only need to do the work once. In addition, we can guarantee that any future changes are aligned with the global regulations we are working towards.
WE WILL NOT CHANGE THE CORE OF THE GAME
We have a commitment to ensure that the Rainbow Six Siege experience remains true to its roots. We are adjusting art and visuals, but are not compromising what makes Rainbow Six Siege the game you know today.
In addition, a few examples were also shown of what we can expect to be changed in the upcoming season:
Action Feed Icons
Violence (Skulls)
Gambling
Blood (Environmental)
Sexual Content
What do you think of the changes? Is it unfair that the game changes have to be made worldwide just to please the Asian markets? Post your thoughts and opinions below.
