“Trackmania”, “Brawlhalla”, “Just Dance” to some extent, admittedly “Rainbow Six” is not the only esports game from Ubisoft, but it is by far the one that has won over the most followers with a structured scene today. Witness the final of the Six Invitational, this Sunday, February 19 in Montreal, the epilogue of the world circuit on this game.
The French video game giant Ubisoft is organizing until Sunday February 19 in Montreal, Canada, the world championships of one of its rare competitive games, Rainbow Six: Siege. The publisher does not bet everything on esports today, does not seek to derive its cult licenses at all costs in multi-player and esports formats.
Detailed strategy with Laure Valée, esports consultant for franceinfo, and François-Xavier Denièle, vice-president of Ubisoft, in charge of esports and competitive games, a department created seven years ago, with the release of Rainbow Sixwith the aim of developing, precisely, esports at Ubisoft.
franceinfo: Ubisoft is a global video game giant but is not identified as an esports giant. How to explain this?
Laura Valee: It’s true that the general public knows Ubisoft above all for some of its cult or popular games like Assassin’s Creed, Rayman, Splinter Cell or even the Rabbids. These are not esports games, there are no competitions. And so it is with this shooter, Rainbow Six: Siege, which the French publisher has been trying for seven years now to find a place in esports. With success, since the publisher claims more than 85 million players on this game in the world.
The sports season on this game is structured with regional leagues and international competitions. Forty esports clubs have professional teams and some will therefore do battle in Montreal.
The finals of the world championships on this game Rainbow Six will take place there, the Six Invitational. What will it look like?
It is a highly anticipated meeting. It is the conclusion of a world circuit, the final of the finals, after several competitions on different continents. The participants share an endowment of 3 million dollars. Montreal, this tournament has been held there for six years. Ubisoft has production studios there. The matches take place at the Laval stadium, which can accommodate up to 10,000 spectators. And it’s a hockey stadium, hence a special atmosphere, describes François-Xavier Denièle, vice-president of Ubisoft, in charge of esports and competitive games:
“We had to cover the ice, we had to work with the sound, which is very important in hockey stadiums, it brings this ‘arena’ side, a lot of noise. The players at the start can be annoyed, but in fact , they love it, because it increases the pressure. And since it’s an American stadium, there are a lot of passageways, which is very interesting. Since it’s winter, we have everyone inside. interior, and that allows us to offer a lot of initiatives around the game and Ubisoft, around the event.”
Organizing competitions in front of thousands of spectators, broadcast on the internet, on Twitch, is it a way to shine for Ubisoft?
Yes, esport is a way to attract and retain new players. Organizing a great event shows the power of a game, and makes it possible to seduce a new audience, sometimes younger. Strategy detailed by the director of esports at Ubisoft:
“We went to Japan, we had put more than 4,000 people in a room in Tokoname which must be the equivalent of Dijon in France. There is also an example that has always marked me: 2018, we made a final in Milan, Italy, which is not a very well-known country in terms of esports, and we then see, for several months, many more players in the game, and a strong attractiveness of the local Italian scene. , you always have to see the balance between the high cost of an event, and what you want to do with the local community.”