Rainbow Six Extraction, the upcoming PvE Rainbow Six title which pits players against alien adversaries, has been delayed for a second time according to a recent statement from Ubisoft. The game’s new release window will now be January of 2022.
Rainbow Six Extraction Delayed Once Again
Originally announced as “Rainbow Six Quarantine,” Rainbow Six Extraction’s title was wisely changed by Ubisoft so as to distance it from the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the name change, back in early November of 2020, Ubisoft announced the game’s first delay. Its release window was shifted to the first half of Ubisoft’s next fiscal year; somewhere between April and September of 2021.
While COVID-19 and problems caused by lockdowns and other factors in 2020 were no doubt behind the original delay, this new delay is reportedly to allow Rainbow Six Extraction to receive more feedback. “The goal with the decision to delay both [Rainbow Six Extraction & Riders Republic] of these games is to give more opportunity for players to test, play first-hand and give feedback,” explains Ubisoft’s statement; “to ensure we are bringing the best experience to market and allow them to reach their full potential.”
As a result, Rainbow Six Extraction is now due to release sometime in January of 2022. Riders Republic, the other game to receive a delay, will now be releasing on October 28th. Like Extraction, this is also the second time that Riders Republic has been delayed by Ubisoft. In fact, a third Ubisoft game – Skull & Bones – received another delay less than two months ago. Skull & Bones has been in development for years, and has been delayed numerous times already. (From 2018 to 2019, then 2019 to 2020, and now to sometime in the 2022 fiscal year, beginning April 1st.)
Ultimately, however, Ubisoft believes that these delays are the right decision to make. “We believe the new release schedules will allow us to achieve that goal [for their games to reach their full potential]. This is the right decision for our players and for the long-term performance of our games.”