Crystal Guard will be the third season of Rainbow Six: Siege‘s Year 6. Ubisoft has now revealed what players can expect from the update due to arrive with the start of the season next month. Not only did we get a better look at the season’s new Operator Osa—the first transgender Operator to be added to the game—there was a brief look at three updated maps, an update to flashbangs, and tweaks to three of the game’s maps.
Ubisoft Montreal had already introduced Anja “Osa” Janković through the briefest of teaser trailers last week. Nighthaven’s electromechanics, military engineering and robotics expert moved in with her Croatian aunt when she was just six years old. Combining the family trade of toymaking with an obsession for 60’s sci-fi, she went on to study military engineering at the University of Zagreb. It was here her transition and “unorthodox approach” left her somewhat isolated from the majority of people.
This briefest mention of a transition is the only hint Ubisoft gives that Osa is transgender, but in a statement to GameSpot, writer Simon Ducharme said that they made the decision to have a trans Operator early, and consulted with trans people to present Osa in an authentic way:
The decision to create a transgender character was made early on, as part of our initiative to have an inclusive roster of Operators. The consultants, all of whom are trans people, wanted to make sure that Osa was presented as authentically and organically as possible. She was written by a queer person and she is voiced by a trans woman – and while her identity is certainly influenced by her gender, who she is in the Siege universe is centered on her talents, her influence on Nighthaven, and her close friendship to Kali.
The medium speed, medium armor Attacker will come equipped with either the 556xi assault rifle or PDW9 SMG as her primary weapon. Her secondary will be the PMM handgun while her Gadget could be either the smoke grenade or claymore. Her unique ability is the Talon-8 deployable shield, which is taller than those deployed by Defenders and is also see-through, giving players the ability to create cover while peering through windows and doors. You can see her in action in the gameplay reveal below.
As well as a new Operator and Battle Pass, the new season will bring along an update to flashbangs to make them more reliable, the ability to combine Elite gear with other outfits, a price decrease for five Operators, kaleidoscopic weapon skins, as well as balance tweaks to several other current Operators. IQ’s Electronics Detector can now identify and ping electronic devices through walls. Fuze’s Cluster Charge can now be deployed on reinforced walls and hatches but will take time to get through them. Meanwhile, Twitch’s Shock Drone will be able to jump and shoot lasers.
There’s a series of map updates Clubhouse, Coastline, and Bank too. These updates, more details on the above changes, and all of the other bug tweaks and gameplay improvements can be seen on the game’s official site. Rainbow Six Siege Year 6 Season 3 is due to begin next month.
