Rainbow Six Extraction breaks 3M players in a week, Game Pass lowered barrier of entry

Rainbow Six Extraction recently launched worldwide, and in just a week, it saw over 3 million people giving it a shot. As a buy-to-play, fans might be uncomfortable throwing money down on such a different idea in the Rainbow Six franchise.

Instead of an esports-style, competitive online game, it’s a three-player online co-op, PVE affair. Not everyone is sure of the title, so having Xbox Game Pass could have been a significant aid to the success of Rainbow Six Extraction overall.

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Game Pass made Rainbow Six Extraction easier than ever to play

The Buddy Pass will also help players get into Rainbow Six Extraction, letting people who aren’t sure about the game try it out with their friends. Those who purchased the title can invite two friends on any platform to play it with them for a limited time.

But what really could have helped the game out was the Day One Game Pass announcement. Rainbow Six fans are now likely used to Rainbow Six Siege, a free-to-play title. Rainbow Six Extraction will also have monetization, Battle Passes, and things of that nature, but packed into a buy-to-play game.

That could be a turn-off for gamers, but what if they could play for free instead? That’s where the Xbox Game Pass comes in. These users can hop on for free, download, install, and then play with their friends who bought the game on other platforms to control operators and go on dangerous missions.

Through the Game Pass, the barrier of entry was seriously lowered for people who aren’t sure if they will like the game or simply don’t want to pay for a game that will have microtransactions. It’s undoubtedly a new experiment in the Rainbow Six universe.

On top of that, the game is also on Ubisoft+, the French developer’s online games library subscription service. Being free-to-play on two subscription services can do a lot for a title getting mixed or negative reviews. That way, people can try it for themselves without spending money, to see what they think about it.

Three million players is not too shabby for just one week, and time will tell if that momentum sticks around after the first couple of weeks have passed. It’s still a fantastic landmark for the new PVE title to drop from Ubisoft.