Rainbow Six Siege new season update patch notes and server downtime

Rainbow Six Siege fans are counting down to the start of a brand new season, as Operation Brutal Swarm drops on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC. Kicking off Season 3 of Year 7, Brutal Swarm has a September 6 release date. Unfortunately, fans will have to sit through a period of server downtime before the update is available. Downtime varies depending on the platform, so read on for timings, patch notes, file sizes and more.

Rainbow Six Siege will be taken offline for an hour at 2pm BST UK time on PC, followed by an hour at 3pm BST on Xbox devices. Finally, Rainbow Six Siege will go offline at 4pm on PS4 and PS5.

The update weighs in at 30GB on Xbox One, 33GB on Xbox Series S/X, 59GB on PS4 and 33GB on PS5. Over on PC, the base update is around 45GB.

In terms of new content, the headline feature is the addition of a new operator, the Singaporean Attacker Grim.

Grim launches with a new gadget called the Kawan Hive Launcher, which allows for Intel-Gathering and Area Denial. Better yet, it has no reload and a low fire rate.

Elsewhere, Stadium is now a permanent map, the Impact EMP grenade joins the game, and there’s a new penalty system for abusive language.

That’s on top of all the usual balance changes, bug fixes and gameplay tweaks, which you can see in the patch notes below.

Rainbow Six Siege Operation Brutal Swarm patch notes…

PLAYER COMFORT

HUD Updates

• Updated compass icons for eliminated and downed players

• Fixed color inconsistencies of objective icons and inventory panel

• Fixed color inconsistency of gadgets

Report System

• Players who have disconnected from the session can now be reported.

• Can now report players directly from Match Replay

Map Rotations

• Added Stadium Bravo Map to Ranked, Unranked, Quick Match, TDM and Newcomer

• Removed Bartlett from Custom Game

• Changed Newcomer bombsites according to latest Ranked data.

Team Deathmatch

• Action phase time increased to 7:30 min from 5 min.

• Operator pick phase time decreased to 20 seconds from 30

• Kill limit increased to 90 from 75.

• Increased reward amounts in the playlist

OPERATOR BALANCING

BUCK

• Added Gonne-6

CAPITAO

• Added Gonne-6

FINKA

• Removed Frag Grenades

• Added Smoke Grenades

FUZE

• Reduced the drilling time of Cluster Charge to 2s (was 3s)

• Increased the visibility of pellet trails

• Added Smoke Grenades

GLAZ

• Added Claymore

IANA

• Removed Gonne-6

KALI

• Increased the number of charges for LV Explosive Lance to 4 (was 3)

CSRX 300:

• Reduced vertical and horizontal recoil.

• Camera recovery time has been increased to ensure a smother sight movement.

MAVERICK

• Removed Frag Grenades

• Added Stun Grenades

THATCHER

• Added new EMP VFX