Cross-progression and crossplay are in the works for Rainbow Six Siege

Back when Ubisoft switched from Uplay to its shiny new Ubisoft Connect client last year, the publisher promised that future games would feature cross-saving and cross-platform play as much as possible. At the time, that promise didn't include Rainbow Six Siege, which was disappointing for players who hoped to combine their operator and skin collections across every platform. Rejoice: It sounds like we're going to get our wish, eventually.

During a recent preview event for the upcoming Crimson Heist season, Siege game director Jean-Baptiste Halle told PC Gamer that these features are in progress. "We're actively working on cross-progression and crossplay," he said. "Within the realm of consoles, I think it would be great if PlayStation and Xbox could play together."

Halle said that crossplay would make for shorter matchmaking times, especially in regions where one console's population far outshines the other. He used the example of Asian regions, where PlayStation players far outnumber Xbox. As for the PC, Halle is "skeptical" of joining the platform with its console cousins. 

"I can see the pros, but I can also see the cons," he said. "So, for this one, it's too early for us to communicate."

One of the cons, Halle agreed, is the inherent advantage that keyboard and mouse users would have over controller players in a precise shooter like Siege.

Unlike successful crossplay games like Call of Duty: Warzone or Fortnite, Siege has no aim assist for controller players that would help bridge the skill gap. Siege's console community already struggles with players climbing the ranks by using third-party hardware to enable mouse and keyboard use, so I'm not hopeful that an official implementation would be healthy for balance. Ubisoft could simply enable native mouse and keyboard support on both consoles, but that could create an environment where only mouse users rise to the top.

Thankfully, cross-progression should be far less controversial. Players can already transfer progress from their last-gen console to a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, but the three main ecosystems are still siloed off from each other. Halle says it's too early to say when the cross-progression floodgates will open, but I can't wait for the day that I don't have to purchase every operator twice to play with my friends on PC and PS5.

Ubi fully unveiled Siege's year Year 6 season, Crimson Heist, over the weekend with loads of interesting announcements. Check out my hands-on with new attacker Flores and wash it down with the fact that Rick and Morty skins are coming to Siege this year.