A common trend in esports is wondering which title is going to stick around, and which would fall to the wayside in the face of the well-established juggernauts. Which up and comer is going to fall under the tread to the likes of League of Legends, CS:GO and DotA. Many thought Overwatch would cement itself among these monsters, but look how that’s going.

Let me introduce you to Rainbow 6: Siege. One of the many titles in the well known, long-established series with the same name – minus the Siege. The “Siege” aspect plays a huge role in the gameplay, which aids in setting Rainbow Six: Siege outside of the usual first-person shooters. Players take shape in either attackers and defenders from various real-world military organizations. They then choose operators possessing various gadgets to aid in either task. Attackers begin their round trying to scout out the defenders of their site and their set up, where they and their gadgets are placed. After that, the “Siege” begins.

Rainbow Six: Siege only takes place indoors, there are no major wide open maps, no grassy plains to cross and fight over, every battle you fight is in close quarters. This makes typical tropes of shooters fall to the wayside – to the point where we finally got our first true-blooded sniper operator (yes I know Glaz existed before Kali) – and emphasizes entering buildings, slow gameplay, and destructible walls.

I’m grossly oversimplifying the gameplay, but it is one esport that you both should play on your own and then spectate. This allows you to appreciate the degree of skill that goes into knowing specific locations and call outs. As a jungler in League of Legends, tracking enemies isn’t something I’m unfamiliar with, but Siege takes tracking enemies and turns it up to eleven.

Playing the game will also make you appreciate the various types of players in Rainbow Six: Siege. Entry fraggers, in-game leaders, support players, they all play a critical role in an effective team in Rainbow Six: Siege, and how even casually the game is much better enjoyed with a group of five players. Like everything else in esports, solo queuing can leave you with a rather salty experience.

Back to the esport itself, it is experiencing the critical thing that has lead to the success of many esports — natural growth. Where some esports have had money thrown at them and hoped to have them succeed, Rainbow Six: Siege has undergone natural growth throughout time and fine-tuning with the help of ESL and Ubisoft. Usually, those two organizations don’t get much praise in the realm of esports, but those and Siege have worked out a good relationship.

SpaceStation Gaming at USN, courtesy of ESL

The esport has 4 major regions that filter through Major, Minor and Invitational formats. Those regions are North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. Many well-established names populate these regions – the likes of TSM, Evil Geniuses, Fnatic, Cloud9, Na’Vi, Team Liquid, and Fnatic – and gives fans an easy entry-way into finding a team to follow.

Those teams give players home, and those players are some of the personality-driven characters out of most esports. In many shooters, dominant personalities seem to reign supreme, but Rainbow Six: Siege players have their own brand that set themselves aside from other shooters (there’s a lovely clip of everyone’s favorite caster Goldenboy getting roasted by some of the G2 roster, you only need to watch the first minute to watch what I’m talking about).

Michael ” KiXSTAr” Stockley and Parker “INTERRO” Mackay, courtesy of Siege.gg

And finally rounding out the esport is something that regardless of whether or not you hate teams that won or lost, is the casters of Rainbow Six: Siege. Rainbow Six: Siege has its own brand of casters, ones that have been established for the passion of the esport when there may or may not have been a future in the esport, and they’re nothing short of entertaining themselves. Where Siege is still considered by many as an up and comer, this has allowed their casters to be fair.. innovative with their criticism of some players and their performances (Velly and his trashcan come to mind).

I’ve said it all throughout this article, but the biggest key of this esport’s success is its natural growth, and what it’s become because of that. That alone should cement your choice in giving Rainbow Six: Siege a chance in this new year, but I hope the reasons I’ve laid out in this article further aid you in that decision!