This Week at Ubisoft: Rainbow Six Siege Year 8 Begins, Black History Month Events Continue

This week at Ubisoft, the team behind Rainbow Six Siege revealed their Year 8 roadmap, including the announcement of a new Operator and corresponding gadget, as well as a new AI feature that will teach bots to behave like players. Far Cry 6 players also received new content with the Far Cry: Rise of the Revolution audio series from Audible. And as part of Ubisoft's Black History Month events, Ubisoft News facilitated a dialogue between two Black employees at studios on different continents about being their authentic selves at work. Check it all out and more in this week's roundup of Ubisoft News.

Rainbow Six Siege - Operation Commanding Force Operator and Gadget Guide

Rainbow Six Siege Year 8 is on the way, starting with Operation Commanding Force. The new season brings a new Attacker named Brava, who wields a Kludge drone that can hack Defenders' electronic gadgets and either destroy them or turn them against their owner. Operation Commanding Force also comes with a new Battle Pass and free updates to the game.

Being "Authentically Us" During Black History Month

As part of Ubisoft's Black History Month events, which center on the theme "Authentically Us," Ubisoft News facilitated a discussion between Writer Arden Youngblood and Content Director Gilles Matouba. They are two Black employees living on different continents with different backgrounds, and they spoke about the challenges of being authentic at work, the threat of unconscious bias, and the value of diversity.

How Rainbow Six Siege Developed AI That Acts Like Real Players

During the recent Six Invitational, the team behind Rainbow Six Siege revealed the game's Year 8 roadmap, including a brand-new bot AI feature that will roll out later this year. Unlike the current iteration, the new bots will be able to act as Operators and use their gadgets, as well as behave like real players. Ubisoft News spoke with Technical Architect Alex Busby to learn more about the new AI system, how they're teaching bots to behave like players, and why machine learning is beneficial for game development.

Giancarlo Esposito Stars in Far Cry: Rise of the Revolution

Far Cry: Rise of the Revolution is an all-new, five-episode audio series from Audible starring Giancarlo Esposito. The series serves as a prequel story to Far Cry 6 and was developed alongside the game, following a young Antón Castillo from his youth as a political prisoner to his rise to El Presidente; Clara García as she transforms from journalist to the leader of Libertad; and Diego Castillo as he wrestles with his father's violent reign and tries to escape his lonely life.

Rainbow Six Extraction, Immortals Fenyx Rising Join Ubisoft+ Classics in March

PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium members are getting access to two new Ubisoft games next month, as Rainbow Six Extraction and Immortals Fenyx Rising join the growing Ubisoft+ Classics library. Rainbow Six Extraction is a PvE game that pits three players against invading Archaeans during research excursions, rescue missions, and more. Immortals Fenyx Rising, inspired by Greek mythology, sets players on an adventure to rescue gods from the Titan Typhon.

Ubisoft+ Adds Warpips and Lacuna to Indie Collection

On February 23, Ubisoft+ added two new indie games to its growing collection: Warpips and Lacuna. Warpips is a 3D single-player tug-of-war strategy game that has players assemble an army of fighters and military vehicles to launch a tactical attack and win the battle. Lacuna, a 2D sci-fi noir adventure, puts you in the role of CDI agent Neil Conrad, where you must investigate a high-profile murder - or risk the whole solar system spiraling into war.

Ubisoft+ Spotlight - Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game - Complete Edition

(Editorial note: This is a series of quick weekly highlights written by Ubisoft News team writers that feature games available with a Ubisoft+ subscription. We hope you'll enjoy reminiscing with us, or perhaps discover something new.)

Brittany Spurlin, Writer/Editor: Do you have what it takes to take down the League of Evil Exes and win over Ramona Flowers? Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game - Complete Edition is inspired by the comic-book series and 2010 cult-movie classic, letting you play as Scott Pilgrim, Ramona Flowers, Steven Stills, and Knives Chau (among others) on your quest to earn Ramona's pixelated heart. It's a classic beat-'em-up 2D arcade game that lets you punch, kick, throw, pummel, and explode the villainous likes of Lucas Lee and Gideon Graves, all while rocking out to the game's retro-inspired soundtrack.

Each character has their own unique fighting abilities, and as you fight your way through the stages, you can level them up to prepare for the next boss fight. If you're finding one section particularly tough, or if you just want some company, you can play with up to three friends locally or online. You can also play with friends in any of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game - Complete Edition's minigames, like Dodgeball and Battle Royale.

With a Ubisoft+ subscription, you can jump into the jam-packed fun of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game - Complete Edition today, which comes with all the original game's DLC, including the Knives Chau and Wallace add-on packs.

Game Updates

Assassin's Creed Valhalla launched title update 1.7.0 on February 19, bringing bug fixes and game improvements to the game.

• Light-Fingered skill use no longer prevents picking up key items
• The Raven Clan Crew outfit can now be enhanced or upgraded to a higher quality
• Already-owned gear packs no longer appear in the store

On February 24, Rainbow Six Siege brought patch Y7S4.2 to the game, introducing Operator balancing, weapon balancing, and bug fixes.

• Grim added 1.5x and 2.0x sights to Commando 552
• Extended barrel attachment increases weapon damage by 15%
• Caveira's hair no longer clips into her face in the Home section

The Settlers: New Allies deployed a hotfix on February 21 to address crashes and desynching issues.