August R6 Major will not take place in Saudi Arabia says Ubisoft

After massive backlash from the Rainbow Six Siege community, Ubisoft has announced it will move the August event to another yet-to-determined location. 

The official statement outlines the process Ubisoft followed to announce the R6 Major in the United Arab Emirates. But the announcement did not go well with the community which raised concerns with the choice of location. 

“Choosing this location for a Six Major was the result of extensive discussions with our local teams in the region, the UAE government, and our local esports partner, and their collective commitment that a Six Major in Abu Dhabi would be an event which anyone, of all gender identities, sexual orientations, cultural backgrounds, or other individual traits, would be included and welcomed, as has been the case with numerous other events previously held in the city.”

The announcement continues further saying Ubisoft has taken the decision to move the August Major 2022 to another location. The developer has not announced the new Siege Major location just yet.

Soon after Ubisoft’s announcement, the community criticized the decision due to the region’s poor humanitarian and poor track record of acceptance of LGBT+ members. The public backlash took the form of an online petition wherein thousands of fans expressed their opinion.

The online petition had one single demand: “Stop the UAE Rainbow Six: Siege Major in 2022”. At the time of Ubisoft’s announcement, the petition had just over 13,000 signatories. 

“In the spirit of fostering all our local communities around the world, in all their diversity, dedication and passion for the game, we will keep on developing and structuring our competitive activities in MENA, through local and regional tournaments and activations. The MENA region has been fast evolving into a key video game hub in the world, and we are humbled by the level of engagement, support and dedication of both our local fans and the talented staff of our MENA teams and Abu Dhabi development studio.”

Ubisoft has confirmed it continues to invest and develop the Rainbow Six Siege scene in the United Arab Emirates and surrounding regions.

Ubisoft has not yet announced details of the new venue for the August Major. The Stage 1 Major will take place in the United States in May this year. The Stage 3 Major will take place in Asia towards the end the year.

Ubisoft also confirmed that the Six Invitational 2024 will not take place in Montreal. The developer is also looking for adequate venues for the 2023 edition. 

Furthermore, Ubisoft has decided to postpone the Rainbow Six Siege World Cup to 2023. 

Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Rainbow Six news and updates.