Mobile gaming might not be synonymous with high end hardcore competitive play, but that’s not to say it isn’t there. Many of the biggest shooters, battle royales and franchises have a mobile counterpart, and now Rainbow Six Mobile has joined that cohort, adapting the Rainbow Six Siege format to the smaller screen.
Developed by Ubisoft with a new mobile team internal to Ubisoft Montreal, I was curious why this approach was taken as opposed to the alternative: partnering with an external mobile-oriented developer.
Olivier Albarracin told us, “All of us worked on previous mobile shooter games and kind of coming to bring that knowledge to Ubisoft was actually part of the whole fun. Working with Siege – we work in the same building as Siege – I know Joshua and Chris and we share knowledge and insights all the time, like the data between us. So a lot of stuff we’ve made, they’ve actually added to their game, and of course, we just take basically a lot of the core game from them, so it’s a lot of give and take. And I think it made sense as a brand as a whole for us to make it in Montreal, but we are of course, a separate team.”
Ubisoft Game Designer Olivier Albarracin – Rainbow Six Mobile
You can definitely feel that cross-pollination. At first glance, Rainbow Six Mobile looks an awful lot like Siege, though if you’re used to Thatcher and Sledge having their faces covered, it might be a little unnerving to see them looking back at you from the character selection. However, once you dig into the experience you can see the blend of similarities and bespoke mobile work.
“We built the game from the ground up for the mobile experience,” Olivier told us. “In doing so, we had to make choices. That was, like, what makes Siege Siege without sacrificing the tactical identity. So of course, pacing of the game was essential, so, for example, the exterior of maps we decided to shorten like to kind of make smaller, so that we focus the game more on the inside of the map, which makes sense because it’s maps are huge. […]
“But this comes back to pacing. We actually made prep phase a bit faster, so reinforcements are quicker, maybe deployment of specific gadgets, and in that vein, we also looked at how, you know, the controls are the HUD in our case. So imagine like the different sizes, like from iPads to different sized screens.”
Is that what Sledge looks like? – Image credit: Ubisoft
One of the first things I personally noted was there were some new and unfamiliar faces on the character roster. Not because they are new characters, or anything, but because characters like Thatcher and Sledge were now showing their faces.
There’s good reason for this, and it’s a reason you might remember from the recently announced Horizon Hunters Gathering multiplayer game. Olivier explained, “Readability was huge for us. […] A lot of the Siege characters, they did have masks, and it was very hard to understand maybe the head or the silhouette. So this is something we kind of wanted to ensure that to understand that that’s Valkyrie, that’s Sledge.” And beyond that, “we also have like a bit more intense red outlines (which are adjustable, of course).”
Visuals aren’t the only change, with the R6M team taking Siege and putting their own stamp on characters being brought across. “[One change] is all our operators have a unique weapon that isn’t shareable,” Olivier gave as an example, “So that’s already different from Siege in terms of parity. Many of those weapons, maybe Siege does have but, for example, Deimos has a Reeves action rifle which is kind of like a DMR, a Winchester, which Siege doesn’t have. We have two unique exclusive maps that we made for mobile, just because on mobile, I explained the size of the map and how we want to ensure that the time to fund was very fast. So this was where we need to make our own map for onboarding, because this is very important, as well as a map for a competitive map that is made for mobile. So that’s something that the Siege veterans would be excited to come and try out.”
Exteriors of maps have been shrunk down for R6M – Image credit: Ubisoft
Opting to play the game on iPad, Rainbow Six Mobile manages to be really rather accessible. There’s a familiar controller layout movement on the left, look and aiming on the right, combined with fire, gadgets and more. The initial tutorial does a good job of getting you up and running, and ensures you know how to lean while scoped, put up barricades, but there’s also, from my perspective, the surprising option to have aim & shoot combined into one. Both in the tutorial and matches that I played, this leant me a smidgeon more panicked spraying while trying to lock down a doorway from enemies.
If you’re coming across from Siege on PC or console, you will find the experience a bit lighter and shorter. Matches are best of three in the basic game, the time to kill feels a bit longer, and more.
Speaking about these core gameplay tweak, Olivier said, “I think our time to kill, for example, is maybe slightly higher, one bullet more, but like, one bullet to the head? The enemy is still dead. The goal was not to make the game to dumb it down or to dilute the tactical fantasy. We made sure that the skill ceiling is high, but the accessibility to enter the game is easier. I think as you progress through the boot camp and you unlock Ranked mode, you’re going to slowly see where it starts to get very complex and a bit more competitive. But yeah, if you’re not ready for that and you want to just have some fun, of course there’s the 3v3 mode and there are other arcade modes like Team Deathmatch that will come and go.”
That got me thinking about the controller divide. Gamepad controls are supported for Rainbow Six Mobile, and surely that gives an advantage to players? Is this an evolution of the PC-console crossplay debate?
“I think you would be surprised at the high-level play from screen players” Olivier said, “and I will say that they’re equal and in terms of play. […] The top ranked players? they’re playing with six fingers and they are just finger like they’re flicking headshots and it’s quite insane!
“But aside from that, we do have some aim assist control for controllers and touchscreen to help balance this, but we are monitoring this. […] Should we have separate matchmaking? It’s a discussion we have, but for now, the community, the competitive community is vocal that they don’t mind this having the gamepad. They’re actually happy to beat them and prove their point!”
There’s shades of Mario Kart 8’s infamous “I’m playing with motion controls” lobby spamming.
You need to learn a tactical approach for Rainbow Six Mobile – Image credit: Ubisoft
Being a slower and more tactical experience might be something that helps with this difference, as setting a firm defensive position then allows you to narrow your focus and reactions on a smaller area. Trying to bunny hop round corners and doorways isn’t going to help you, even if that was really an option these days.
Olivier observed, “You see a lot of that on the socials or on Reddit, like a lot of COD players coming in or players from different backgrounds, and they’re like, ‘I’m just getting smashed!’ and they’re reinforcing the wrong walls… My advice is like, it’s a lot. Take your time. Take it slow. Pick an operator. Try to master that operator. And I think you’re going to end up slowly getting into it. But if you’re coming in running and gunning? Good luck!”
Thanks to Olivier for taking the time to talk to us. Rainbow Six Mobile is out now for iOS and Android.
