When is the Rainbow Six Siege Shifting Tides release date?

Rainbow Six Siege Kali
Rainbow Six Siege Kali (Image credit: Ubisoft)

When is the Rainbow Six Siege Shifting Tides release date?

Best answer: Ubisoft has confirmed Rainbow Six Siege Shifting Tides will release on December 3, 2019. The update has hit the Test Server (TS) on PC beforehand, now live for all game owners.

Ubisoft has unveiled Operation Shifting Tides, the latest seasonal update headed to Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege. Shaking up the hit tactical shooter, new Operators Kali and Wamai further disrupt the growing pool of Operator gadgets, serving as a fitting conclusion to 2019 updates.

Shifting Tides wraps Ubisoft's fourth year of free seasonal updates, and amid continued growth, it's well-oiled operation behind the scenes. It allows the Montreal-based studio to maintain a consistent tri-monthly template, and like past seasons, it remains reserved on a firm Shifting Tides launch date.

Following its reveal at the Rainbow Six Pro League Finals Japan, the update made a Test Server (TS) debut on November 11, 2019. The experimental version of the title is available to all PC players for free, providing an environment to test and provide feedback before launch. However, the TS client is isolated from the live servers, with no related progression or rewards.

Related: Shifting Tides ships a perfect conclusion to 2019

Rainbow Six Siege Shifting Tides release date

Rainbow Six Siege Wamai

Source: Ubisoft (Image credit: Source: Ubisoft)

The TS now runs in three-week stints, wrapping in early December if sticking to the schedule. Rainbow Six Siege Operation Shifting Tides has now been confirmed for December 3, 2019, with three hours of deployment across platforms:

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But Operation Shifting Tides is already shaping up as a welcome conclusion to Year 4, packing two new playable Operators, accompanied by a new map rework. Kali and Wamai are the season newcomers, bringing fresh, much-needed alternatives to gadget counters. The CSRX-300 debuts as a hard-hitting bolt-action rifle, boasting an underslung "LV Explosive Lance" anti-gadget launcher. And with Jager increasingly valuable in the meta, Wamai's Mag-NET system introduces a new way to fend off throwables and projectiles.

Assuming its December 3 launch, Kali and Wamai will drop first to Year 4 Pass and Uplay+ holders, via exclusive seven-day access in the membership. The Operators will then see a December 10 broader release, available with Renown or R6 Credits. The Theme Park rework will also be open to all, accompanied by a dedicated playlist to experience the new locale.

In the meantime, Rainbow Six Siege is available starting at $25 on Amazon.

Matt Brown

Matt Brown was formerly a Windows Central's Senior Editor, Xbox & PC, at Future. Following over seven years of professional consumer technology and gaming coverage, he’s focused on the world of Microsoft's gaming efforts. You can follow him on Twitter @mattjbrown.