10 Years In: Alexander Karpazis Talks Where To Go With Rainbow Six Siege X

10 years is a long time. 10 years ago I was a fresh grad in a field totally different from journalism, unaware I'd hate working in an industry like that. Not everyone is so indecisive, however. After 10 years of Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Siege X, it looks like the team behind the tactical shooter are looking into how to keep it going another ten. 

"I still think the future is really bright", says Alexander Karpazis, Creative Director on the game.

 "There's still a lot that we can do and Siege X set the foundation of how do we build the game in the future. Big changes like the audio overhaul and the lighting upgrade that we did are just the beginning blocks of what we can do in the future. Not only affecting how the game looks, but even the gameplay. What does that mean for maybe new operators coming into the game? Can they interact in new ways that can still surprise players too".

He also noted the importance of Rainbow Six Siege X's esports scene. After all, a good hype moment or even news of a prize pool can be big for getting eyes on your game. Alexander says that going forward, they'd be looking at a "closer attachment" between the game and the people watching it: 

"We'd love it if eventually you can just watch esports matches inside of the game itself, too", he says.

Still, he also had a promise to the players: 

There's been a couple of pillars that we've always stuck by. One is our guiding light of creating 100 operators for the game, making sure that we continue to build up the game and respect the gameplay ingredients that are there as well. The other is 60 FPS, making sure that the game performs well, it can be, we don't compromise when it comes to the competitiveness of the game itself. And also things like destruction, which is at the heart of Siege.

What I think the team's really proud of is being able to still adapt after all these years and bring something that's new, that can bring change. One of the big things we did with Siege X is to keep on trying to push the envelope of what we can do. And I think that's great. I think that's something we're really proud of, because we never want to just sit back and coast.

The Characters 

Of course, the real key to Rainbow Six Siege X's coming decade would be in the form of its characters. Having the Rainbow Six series' tacti-cool aesthetic with all the flash of a hero shooter, Alexander says that the challenge with having such a big stable of Operators is keeping the game as a whole fun- the last thing you want is a new Operator who invalidates the game for everyone else.

"The big thing when we talk about new operators is making sure we take the time that makes them feel unique, fun, and creative", he says. 

"Our latest operator, Denari, kind of still represents that and we want to carry forward with that as well. But like you said, we also have more than 70 operators. We want to make sure that they're still fun to play as well. Operators like Blackbeard, making sure that they still remain relevant", he says. 

"It's something that will always be a juggling, kind of balancing act. And of course, listening to the community about where that grows and how do we change that".

Speaking of the players, there's also the act of onboarding any new ones who might think Siege was like any other shooter. Rainbow Six Siege X is a punishing game, and the best way to turn curious newbies into franchise fans is making sure their first outing doesn't go abysmally. 

"One of the biggest things for us is making sure that the AI bots in the game are a tool that can be used to play and learn", Alexander says. 

"That means making sure that these AI can be your teammates as well, so you don't have that pressure of being able to perform in a PvP match, but instead learn at your own pace and maybe even learn from the AI bots that are in the match too", he adds.

"So things like that, things like improving marking where you have to go next, what you have to do next, making it simpler for new players to jump in and learn what makes Siege so special, is still a high priority for us. Even just letting players know what the recommended operator is, stuff like this is important", he says.

What of current players, though? While he Alexander didn't give much more than a "we're working on it" for performance, he shared quite a bit around the game's balance, specifically with regard to the maps. 

Acknowledging maps were inherently Defender-prioritized when it comes to the bomb game mode, he said that that would be the main game mode when it comes to balancing decisions. 

"Since launch we've been more and more balancing maps around the bomb game mode, which wasn't the case before", Alexander says. "So it did make some maps a little less concentrated on the competitive fairness between attackers and defenders. And we know that defenders have an inherent advantage when it comes to map design. So we've learned a lot with all of those kind of changes".

It's rare to see a game go long enough that you get to even talk 10-year plans. Given the Rainbow Six series reputation for being hardcore even among tactical shooters, it's great to see an inkling of where it goes next- especially when the answer seems to be to the tune of "More focus on the stuff that made Siege great to begin with.