Ubisoft has been making some exciting moves with Rainbow Six Siege recently, but there’s one issue that’s been dampening the excitement: the lack of communication from the company regarding LAN dates. It’s time to discuss this matter.
It’s unclear whether Ubisoft has become complacent due to not needing to arrange audiences during the Covid-19 pandemic or if there’s a deeper issue with arranging the events with the local venues, but the growing absence of communication from their eSports departments regarding upcoming LAN event dates is causing a lot of tension within our community.
Let’s look back at the Six Invitational 2020. In 2019, the event was announced on October 8th, with the audience date set for February 14th to 16th. This gave people almost four and a half months to plan time off work, travel, accommodation, and any other requirements for attending the event.
In 2022, Ubisoft announced on April 14th that the Charlotte Major would be returning to an audience-allowed event between May 20th and 22nd. That’s just 36 days. On October 5th, they announced that the Jönköping Major would be held in Sweden from November 25th to 27th. This gave people 51 days to plan. It’s better than the Charlotte Major, but still not great. Then, on June 21st, they announced the Berlin Major, which was to take place between August 19th and 21st. There were only 59 days between the announcement and the event.
Compare that to this year’s Six Invitational, where the event (including dates) was announced on October 26th, but tickets weren’t available for purchase until November 25th. This gave people only 84 days to plan, which, in many cases, wasn’t enough time. As a result, the cosplay community suffered a notable drop in attendance, with around 34 people unable to attend. It wasn’t just cosplayers too – I’m sure many people commented on how many empty seats there were in the stadium…
While the gap between event announcement and the event itself is increasing, it’s still quite short. This is especially true for the upcoming Copenhagen Major, which was announced during the Six Invitational 2023 in February, but the dates of May 5th to 7th were only just announced today. This leaves just 46 days for people to plan tickets, flights/trains, and accommodation. In most cases now, it’s too late. The cost of hotels has gone beyond what’s acceptable, and many people that I know in this community are now deciding not to attend the Major in Copenhagen.
I can say that while I did attend the Berlin Major, having only 59 days to sort out funds for travel, as well as arranging a hotel and even cosplay, was quite stressful. It’s difficult to arrange everything within such a limited time frame. Hotel prices were higher because of how close the date was, and if I hadn’t booked before I did they would have been even more expensive. For Charlotte, only 12 of us could attend, and only because they mostly lived within 10 hours of the venue. In Jönköping, only two cosplayers attended.
The lack of communication from Ubisoft regarding LAN dates for Rainbow Six Siege is not only causing tension within the cosplay community, but it’s also affecting the game’s fanbase. We invest our time and resources in attending these events, and it’s only fair that we receive adequate notice to make necessary arrangements.
Cosplay is a vital part of many gaming events, and the absence of such a community can negatively affect the overall atmosphere of the event. Additionally, these events provide an opportunity for fans to network, meet other players and influencers, and generally bond over shared interests. However, the lack of adequate notice makes it challenging for us to plan accordingly, and this, in turn, hurts the sense of community that the game seeks to promote.
Ubisoft’s eSports departments need to be more proactive in communicating with the community about LAN dates. The company needs to address this issue by being more transparent and communicative about event dates. Doing so will help build trust and loyalty among fans, create a more inclusive and welcoming community, and ultimately, help the game thrive.
