Ubisoft has announced that it will be updating Rainbow Six Esports for 2020 with a new regionalization program.

Set to kick-off in mid-June 2020, the revamp will affect all four existing Rainbow Six regions. Instead of following the previous global event format, the four areas can now freely decide how they want to manage their competitions.

Ubisoft shared in a recent blogpost how regionalizing the esports program is the natural next step.

“[The goal is] to enhance the specificities and successes of each region and keep building upon the momentum from the past five years of Rainbow Six Esports. Developing our local scenes has always been part of our DNA,” it wrote.

Credit: Rainbow Six Esports/Ubisoft

In enabling these regions to become more independent, Ubisoft believes it will re-focus talent development among local particularities and boost the diversity of contest formats to consider.

The changes include:

  • Four regional programs running in parallel for a year. The year will be divided into quarters with the first three being designated as “Stages” that will conclude with a Major Finale. The Top 4 teams from each region will gather at the end of each Stage to compete. The last quarter will focus on regional finals and relegations. The winners will these new regionals will feed into the Six Invitational Qualifiers
  • Teams playing in these regionals will be ranked based on an all-new points system that gives out rewards based on performance runs
  • All team performances in regionals and Majors will have some impact on global rankings and can influence the teams’ chances at the Six Invitational

Where Southeast Asia is concerned — it is paired with the Japanese and Korean divisions to form a single and highly competitive online league. Called the North Division, it will gather 12 teams to compete for regional and global glory.

More details on these changes and upcoming announcements can be found here.

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