Rainbow Six Pro League is about to enter a new era. From Season 1 at Pax East to the Atlantic City Season 7 finals, our teams, players, and competitions have been evolving, thanks to the unfailing engagement of our community and player base. Over the past three years, we have built progressively sturdier infrastructures, aiming for a common goal: a long-lasting and high-level competitive scene. In 2018, we are taking steps to provide more stability in the Rainbow Six Pro League. As such, we have launched a global initiative that we believe will help shape a more mature ecosystem for our community.
We have already launched a series of measures to help make the Rainbow Six Pro League – and the global Rainbow Six esports scene – a more stable model:
- Confirmation for the next two years of Pro League until May 2020, helping ensure security for all esports players.
- A new Pro League format, where each year is composed of two six-month Pro League seasons, providing a better foundation for teams and pro players.
- More LAN events, with two Majors – the Six Major Paris and the Six Invitational – as well as multiple Minor events, such as the four Dreamhacks where the game will be featured. These changes will result in a higher level of play and more entertaining games for fans.
These milestones are part of a long path to build a global esport program that will last for years. 2018 marks the start of a global Revenue Share initiative, dedicated to teams, players, and the Six Invitational prize pool. This will kick off with a Pilot Program, allowing revenue sharing with a selection of Pro League teams on specific in-game items. The goal is to provide organizations and pro players additional revenue directly from the game and help foster a more stable environment. For us, it is a major step forward – a way to reward teams that contribute to the league and help it grow. For fans, revenue sharing is one of the most direct ways to show support for a specific team.
With this program, we are expanding on the Team Charm initiative we ran during last year’s Pro League seasons. The Pilot Program is a starting point designed to test, improve, and iterate for the full duration of Pro League’s Year 2018-2019 (Seasons 8 and 9). To start the initiative, we will collaborate with eleven teams, from all four Pro League regions (Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific). We want our teams to be involved in the evolution of the Rainbow Six competitive scene for the long term.
Here is the complete list of Pilot Teams:
- PENTA Sports
- Vitality
- Evil Geniuses
- Rogue
- SK Gaming
- Mousesports
- FaZe Clan
- Team Liquid
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- Immortals
- FNATIC
Q: How are the revenues distributed?
A: We will redistribute 30% of the net revenue on selected items. There will be two types of items in the revenue share:
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Pilot Team items: Each team will receive one charm and one weapon skin with their color/branding. For these items, revenue share is set at 30% of the net revenue going to the Pilot Team concerned.
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Pro League items: For each Pro League–branded skin and charm sold, 30% of the net revenue will be split between the upcoming Six Invitational prize pool (9%) and equally between each of the 11 Pilot Teams (21%).
Q: How did you select the 11 Pilot Teams?
The Pilot Program is designed to evolve. For the first phase, we looked for established, fan-fueled organizations across all four regions of Pro League play.
All new organizations that joined the Rainbow Six Pro League in the past year and are now considered Pilot Teams acquired existing and experienced Pro League rosters.
Historical Rainbow Six Pro League teams are also among the Pilot Teams, based on their involvement in the League growth, their experience, and their results. Pilot Team benefits are valid for the duration of the year.
Q: Why limit the program to 11 teams?
We feel confident that the Pilot Program can generate enough revenue for up to 11 teams to grow significantly, driving changes for the benefit of all players.
Q: Why only in-game items?
We have been testing Pro League and Team items for more than a year now, and the Pilot Program will focus on these. However, we are looking forward to learning and iterating on this first phase, and hope to reach a final model soon.
Q: Why only 30% revenue share? Why not provide a share of the revenue directly to the players?
Thirty percent of revenue sharing allows for a significant amount of extra revenue to help teams grow. For now, we will allow teams to dispatch the revenue as they see fit. The Pilot Program is a first test that will help us build a stronger model and ultimately a more mature Rainbow Six Pro League.
