Rainbow Six Siege Future Accessibility Improvements Detailed

Ubisoft’s tactical shooter, Rainbox Six Siege is a title I’ve been getting back into of late, but there are elements working against me that started to make the game less enjoyable. However, while I had concerns about the state of accessibility in the multiplayer shooter, some new plans for the future of the game have been released. So it’s nice to see the studio still working to improve the game.

The status report acknowledges that there have been long-standing issues with Rainbox Six Siege which originally launched back in 2015. In section 4 the topic focuses on accessibility. “Player accessibility is important to us and the continued growth of Siege.” the report reads, “Our vision for greater accessibility involves a full-fledged colorblind solution as a system that allows players the option to re-color claymores, laser sights, camera lights, etc.—while also taking into account which team you’re on for proper feedback.”

There is a little bit of official information about @Rainbow6Game undergoing #gameaccessibility efforts here:https://t.co/AvZVsE3sg5#a11y

— David Tisserand (@TisserandDavid) June 13, 2020

Ubisoft admits that earlier colorblind solutions, “did not live up to our expectations,”. Rather than using filters, it seems as if Ubisoft plans to offer full-spectrum color selection, allowing players to customize multiple elements. While the studio plans to look into this in the near future, it wants to tackle the shooting experience first by having a look at reticle colors and seeing what’s possible there.

While more information on that front looks to be shared soon, it was detailed that most of the accessibility team’s resources are currently focused on features for the Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA).

Another issue detailed in the report is related to sound, which in the future will be repacked and apparently delivered in Season 3. It’s also noted that a full rebuild of the entire sound propagation and sound interaction systems is a major task and most likely won’t be finalized in Year 5. Other fixes touch on connectivity issues, cheaters, streamer modes, and more that can be read on the status report.

Personally, I’m hoping to see an improvement in subtitles in-game in the future as at current they’re incredibly small and easy to miss in the heat of the moment. The fact they blend into the background a lot of the time also means I’ve missed cues or focused too hard of reading them that I’ve left myself exposed to the deadly bullets from the enemy team.

Rainbow Six Siege is available on PC, Xbox One, and PS4.