(Image: UBISOFT )

Rainbow Six Siege's new Operation Chimera update is now LIVE on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

This brings the new “Outbreak” Event and Operation Chimera’s two new operators, the first major content for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege Year 3.

In addition, this new content is also accompanied by select modifications to the game’s various editions, first announced at the Six Invitational.

“These changes are part of the dev team’s ongoing commitment to enrich Siege players’ experience. We want to make sure each season offers new gameplay mechanics. It’s a new layer I want to develop for the game” explained Xavier Marquis, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege Creative Director.

It should be noted that the official Twitter account has also told fans that the Ash Sidewinder Elite is being removed from the game shop while Ubisoft actively work on the fix to get it to all players that qualified to receive it for free.

Ash's Black Viper Elite, from the Outbreak Collection, is still available through Outbreak Packs.

• Stay tuned for more details

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Rainbow Six Siege - Outbreak Mode and Operation Chimera News and Operators View gallery

The game has now gone offline for PS4 Rainbow Six Siege players, but should still be available for anyone on PC and Xbox One.

As per our previous post, this is so Ubisoft can begin deploying Operation Chimera for PlayStation 4 users.

The update for PS4 users is 9.5GB so may take some time to download depending on your network connection.

Downtime is expected to be completed by 4PM GMT, at which point downtime should begin for Xbox One players.

It's also worth noting as with any scheduled maintenance, for any game, that these updates can sometimes take a little bit longer and as such scheduled maintenance can sometimes be extended.

The game has now gone offline for PC Rainbow Six Siege players, but should still be available for anyone on PS4 and Xbox One.

As per our previous post, this is so Ubisoft can begin deploying Operation Chimera.

Downtime is expected to be completed by 3PM GMT, at which point downtime should begin for PS4 users.

The update for PC users is 14.1 GB so may take some time to download.

It's also worth noting as with any scheduled maintenance, for any game, these updates can sometimes take a little bit longer and as such scheduled maintenance can sometimes be extended.

Ubisoft has now confirmed the official release time and patch notes for the upcoming Year 3 Operation Chimera release.

As explained previously the new content will be dropping today, March 6, however, we now know when it will be coming to each individual platform.

Before the actual release fans have some scheduled maintenance to contend with first on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

It's also been announced that downtime for each platform will last around 1 hour.

As a reminder as well, this downtime and update will launch not just Operation Chimera, but also the new Outbreak mode.

• PC: 9:00-10:00am EST (2pm GMT)• PS4: 10:00-11:00am EST (3pm GMT)• XB1: 11:00-12:00pm EST (4pm GMT)

Official patch notes for the upcoming Rainbow Six Siege update can also be found, on this link: Operation Chimera Patch Notes

ORIGINAL STORY - Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Siege continues to get better with every year that passes.

In 2017 the tactical shooter managed to hit 25 million players and break the 100,000 concurrent players milestone on Steam.

But year three is set to get bigger and better with the release of the games next major update, Operation Chimera.

Only this update is quite different to past releases. For starters, Operation Chimera, unlike previous seasons, features two operators from different counter-terrorist units. On top of this, it's adding a new limited-time co-op event to the game called Outbreak as opposed to a new map.

Thankfully though the wait is almost over as Operation Chimera is set to arrive TOMORROW, March 6th.

Keep reading for the full rundown of everything you need to know about operation Chimera ahead of launch.

Ubisoft has said that operation Chimera will arrive on PS4, Xbox One and PC players on Tuesday, March 6th, which for anyone who hasn't looked at a calendar, is tomorrow.

This is a free update to the game, so no need to worry about buying it as extra DLC.

Ubisoft haven't, however, outlined what time the update could be arriving, but based on past releases, we expect that it will be staggered and released slowly over a couple of hours.

We suspect that this will start with the PS4 at 2PM, then Xbox at 3PM and finally PC at 4PM.

Here's what Ubisoft say:

Welcome to Year 3 of Rainbow Six Siege. Your continued support allows us to create new content and we’re thrilled to reveal what’s under the command tent. Push the flap aside and come on in. We’re starting the year with Operation Chimera and a new specialized CTU in the lineup.

Biological and chemical attacks are growing threats to Operators. Six created the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) Threat Unit. CBRN is its own distinct CTU. The following two experts know what they’re doing and they’ll never turn their backs on a hotzone. These two new operators are joining the multiplayer roster and will also be playable in the limited time Outbreak event, along with other legacy operators.

One operator hails from France and uses a drone to maintain quarantine perimeters. Their service record is astounding, but their list of regrets seems endless.

The other operator moved to Russia to pursue their studies and they uncovered a range of applications for self-dissolving nanobots. All allies can benefit from the research carried out by this CBRN Specialist.

FINKA

• Primary Weapon - Spear .308, SASG-12, 6P41• Secondary Weapon - PMM Pistol, GSH-18

• Gadget - Breach Charge, Stun Grenades• Speed - Medium

• Armoud - Medium

BACKSTORY - Born 3 years after the Chernobyl disaster in Gomel, Belarus, Lera Melnikova was diagnosed with a neuropathy: slow muscle degeneration and loss of sensation in the limbs and extremities. She pushed herself to stay fit to overcome her symptoms. She moved to Novosibirsk and graduated with a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology, uncovering treatments using self-dissolving nanites. It wasn’t a cure but she found remission. Her research saved Spetsnaz operators from hazardous materials and that opened her eyes to new possibilities. She joined the Army, then became the Spetsnaz CBRN Specialist. As for her Finka moniker, got to ask Kapkan or Lera herself.

UNIQUE ABILITY - Finka's Adrenal Surge activates pre-injected nanobots made of zinc in operators, releasing a pharmacological cocktail into their system where the zinc is absorbed as a nutrient. These nanites give her team a short boost in HP, they help allies out of DBNO, and they steady the team’s aim. She’s the only one capable of tailoring the nanites to specific operators.

LION

• Primary Weapon - V308, 417 Marksman Rifle, SG-CQB• Secondary Weapon - P9 Pistol, LFP586

• Gadget - Claymore, Stun Grenade• Speed - Medium

• Armoud - Medium

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BACKSTORY - Olivier Flament grew up in Toulouse, France, where he bucked against his family’s accomplishments and their faith in God. His parents kicked him out and he found himself homeless at 18. He joined the French Army out of desperation, then the 2nd Dragoon Regiment in their role as a CBRN reaction force. GIGN took him in as their biohazard expert. On one mission in Sudan, Yellow Fever broke out. While protecting a field investigation team, his loud voice scared a frightened mob back. He gained the nickname “Lion” from the locals. Finka studied his jacket and recommended Olivier as a CBRN specialist for Rainbow. What’s not on file is the weight of his regrets.

UNIQUE ABILITY - Twitch provided him with an aerial drone while he served with GIGN. The EE-ONE-D helps Lion maintain quarantine by detecting movement in an area, giving an overview of hot zones or of the battlefield. His drone can stay airborne indefinitely, but he must choose the right moment to perform his scans.