‘Rainbow Six Extraction’: Here’s the latest Game Pass and crossplay news, and how to play for free

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Rainbow Six Siege has become one of the most popular tactical shooters in the competitive gaming space and it’s easy to see why. With its intense five-versus-five firefights and elaborate maps, Ubisoft Montreal’s 2015 release found new life in the e-sports realm and became something of a sleeper hit.

That’s why when Rainbow Six Extraction was announced in June 2019 with the working title “Quarantine” (it’s not hard to guess why they might have changed that), it was seen as a step in a different direction.

Rather than focus on the competitive aspects of Siege, Rainbow Six Extraction is a co-operative three-player shooter where players work together against hoards of alien enemies. Extraction is not so much a designated replacement for Siege, but a thematic spin-off that puts playable characters (known as operators) against the backdrop of a parasitic alien invasion.

No longer grounded in realism, Extraction uses its creative new setting to take its familiar gameplay in a bold new direction. Three players will take control of one unique operator each during sessions and must work together to complete a series of objectives, such as gathering intel or collecting samples, while simultaneously being pursued by an alien threat.

Ahead is all the info we know about the latest instalment in the Rainbow Six series, from purchasing details to which characters will be available and even how you canget yourself a copy through Xbox Game Pass.

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Rainbow Six Extraction is now available on PC, Xbox series X/S, PS5, PS4, Xbox One and Google Stadia.

Rainbow Six Extraction currently retails for £49.99 and is available to buy from Ubisoft (£49.99, Ubisoft.com) and Very (£49.99, Very.co.uk), or for a tenner less on Amazon (£39.99, Amazon.co.uk) and Game (£39.99, Game.co.uk).

There is a standard edition available that includes a “buddy pass” and a deluxe edition, which includes cosmetic upgrades, XP boosters for post-launch events and a 10 per cent discount in the in-game shop.

Rainbow Six Extraction is also available on Xbox Game Pass, which should ensure that lobbies will be well populated come launch day.

Rainbow Six Extraction is a co-operative shooter, so who better to play it with than your nearest and dearest? With a buddy pass, your friends can join you in the action, even if they haven’t bought the game. You can invite up to two friends to download the game to play for free.

There is a catch, though. The buddy pass will only last up to 14 days, so after that they will need to buy a copy themselves. It’s a good way to try the game out before committing to a full purchase.

Rainbow Six Extraction has crossplay available, meaning that even if you own a PS5 and you want to play with your friend who has an Xbox series X, you will be able to do so. The buddy pass can also be used through crossplay, but Playstation and Xbox users will require a Playstation Plus and Xbox Live subscription respectively in order to play online.

Eighteen of the operators featured in Rainbow Six Siege will be making their way over to Extraction to form the “Rainbow Exogenous Analysis & Containment Team” (or REACT, if they were straining for the acronym ) and tackle the alien threat.

If you’re familiar with the roster from Siege, the operators that have been confirmed to be making the jump over to Extraction are as follows: Sledge, Smoke, Doc, Rook, Fuze, Tachanka, IQ, Jäger, Lion, Finka, Pulse, Capitão, Hibana, Ela, Vigil, Alibi, Nomad and Gridlock.

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Want to hear more details about ‘Rainbow Six Extraction’? Read our review in full