Rainbow Six Siege: Ubisoft Reverses Planned Changes for Chinese Market

Ubisoft recently censored certain visual elements in Rainbow Six Siege in order to comply with rules in certain Asian territories. These changes were applied to all versions of the game, but following player backlash, the company has reversed course.

The visual changes that were introduced affected everything from icons to the multiplayer environments. Knife symbols used for melee kills became fists. A skull face was covered with a mask. Blood was removed from a wall. Even slot machines in a bar were pulled, leaving the counter blank.

The game’s community didn’t take too kindly to the changes, questioning why they had to be rolled out for all versions of the game rather than just the markets demanding the game be altered. Others called the move “cowardly,” forcing players everywhere to have the same experience because of one region’s regulators.

“We have spent the last week working on solutions and have decided that we will be reverting all aesthetic changes,” Ubisoft said in a new development blog post.

The reversal will occur with the launch of Rainbow Six Siege’s Operation Wind Bastion update, and Ubisoft is working to ensure that the operation will begin with as little delay as possible. If you’re playing in Asia, your experience should stay the same as other players, as Ubisoft isn’t making more than one version.

Operation Wind Bastion is currently available on the Rainbow Six Siege test server. The operation includes two new operators, the Fortress map, weapon skins, pro team uniforms and headgear, and several UI and gameplay tweaks.

Rainbow Six Siege is available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. Earlier this year, published an updated Rainbow Siege Siege review, detailing the improvements made since its 2015 launch.

Gabe Gurwin is a freelance writer for Tech. Follow him on Twitter.