At a live Siege X Showcase event, Ubisoft has revealed the next iteration of Siege called Rainbow Six Siege X. It feels a lot like a sequel but is a continuation of the game. All your skins and unlocks will carry forward.

There is a tonne of new features and overhauls, including, for the first time since launch, a new game mode which will have attackers and defenders on the same team with respawns. The new mode is called Dual Front and lives on a dedicated map which will see evolving changes with the seasons.

The new mode is also going to be 6v6. Having said that, the existing 5v5 core game is still structurally unchanged except Unranked is returning, and the banning process in Ranked is bring improved. The banning will be one character ban per round (for three rounds) and both teams do it at the same time, meaning less seconds spent on it per match and increased strategy.

Starting with the Dual Front and five core maps, the game is receiving enhanced graphics with three additional core maps to follow each season until they’re all caught up.

The new graphics include texture improvements, lighting improvements and material improvements. The maps are also being modernised to include new features such as Environmental Destruction which will allow you to use gas pipes and fire extinguishers to your advantage. There are also improvements to how destruction generally works.

Another improvement is the addition of First-Person Shadows, you’ll now be able to see if you are revealing your location :

Repelling is also being overhauled, you can now sprint, and you can now repeal around corners:

Movement generally has been changed, it’s slightly faster. An example showed during the event is when you walk over a bed, you currently spend half a second dropping to the floor, now, you will walk off the bed and drop to the floor as you move forward, more naturally.

There was also a segment on Anti-Cheat and Toxicity, which was good to see given most of the game is going Free to Play. New players will get access to 26 operators and every mode except Ranked (and Siege Cup) for free.

The audio is getting a major upgrade, with the game focusing more on hearing than seeing players:

There are also changes to how seeing players will work with some outlining being added to the game. The developers make special note about this that they are listening for player feedback.

The whole event is embedded below which features endless drops of info including rewards for veteran players, new ping wheel and eSports info:

Siege X is in closed beta for the next week, to get access, link your Ubisoft Connect account to your Twitch account, and watch someone play Rainbow Six Siege with drops on for 30 minutes.