R6S drops popular Vulkan graphics settings in new update, faces community backlash

Rainbow Six Siege has officially done away with the old Vulkan API graphics settings which helped players with lower-end systems run the game smoothly. This change is only one of the many included with the release of Y9S3 Operation Twin Shells. Naturally, several in the community were unhappy with this change and the backlash was both, swift and merciless.

An excerpt from the official R6S thread was shared on Reddit which noted the inclusion of the DX11 API for the time being. Redditor GorbigliontheStrong soon pointed out how DX11 has not been helpful in the past while Vulkan has performed consistently.

Comment byu/KendrickLaoma from discussion inGames

It was evident that R6S players quite liked Vulkan and its removal was both unexpected and disappointing. User Khalku pointed out how most of their gaming issues were fixed when using Vulkan API, saying:

"It's a shame, because in almost all cases where I am having issues with a game and the option is available, changing to vulkan fixes it."

Even former R6S players found the news disturbing as Dull_Wasabi_1438 noted that even though they will never play the game again Vulkan was their go-to in the past.

Comment byu/KendrickLaoma from discussion inGames

Meanwhile, some players like Redditor MadeByTango were angrier than the rest. They took the time to respond to individual sentences from the excerpt and alleged that Ubisoft was changing the Vulkan API in R6S for budgeting reasons:

"Just stop lying to us. They cut your budget, you don't have the bandwidth to keep the Vulkan API on your JIRA board, and you figure that the number of people affected will be the smallest revenue hit."

Finally, user Think-Morning4766 pointed out how many fans in the forum had expressed that DX11/12 were the same as Vulkan. However, he believed the two were inherently different.

Comment byu/KendrickLaoma from discussion inGames

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R6S and Vulkan API are being removed from Y9S3

Siege patch notes (Image via Ubisoft)

The Rainbow 6 Siege update patch notes were released today (September 10, 2024) and one of the shockers was the removal of the old Vulkan API.

Interestingly, there is a good reason for players to be bitter about this change. Vulkan in Rainbow Six Siege helped with major performance aspects like boosting the in-game FPS. It decreased the load on the CPU and thereby enhanced performance.

This came in clutch for lower-end systems that could achieve their maximum FPS output potential thanks to the API. However, high-end gaming setups didn't benefit much from the system to begin with.

Perhaps, fans see the change as Ubisoft ignoring players who run the game on lower-end PCs. Furthermore, they are very familiar with the Vulkan API, and it is no surprise that its departure has been difficult for many.