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 twelve 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. As we develop a long-term strategy, it is paramount that the players’ are provided with an environment in which they can flourish. Their dedication has been essential to the development of the Rainbow Six Siege scene, and we want to provide the right framework for them to keep pursuing their dreams. Therefore, we are collaborating in this program with well-established organizations whose Rainbow Six Siege rosters are mostly composed of veterans from the scene.
Here is the complete list of Pilot Teams:
- PENTA Sports (EU)
- Vitality (formerly Supremacy, EU)
- Evil Geniuses (formerly Continuum, NA)
- Rogue (NA)
- SK Gaming (Formerly FlipSid3 Tactics, NA)
- Mousesports (Formerly Bird University, NA)
- FaZe Clan (Formerly Team Fontt, LATAM)
- Team Liquid (Formerly MOPA, LATAM)
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- Immortals (Formerly BRK e-sports – LATAM)
- FNATIC (Formerly Mindfreak, ANZ)
Let’s get into more details with a short Q&A now.
Q: How are the revenues distributed?
**
A: Overall, 30% of the net revenue on selected items will be redistributed. There will be two different type of items concerned by the revenue share, only for the 11 teams integrating the Pilot Program:
- “Pilot Team” items: Each of the 11 teams will receive one charm and one weapon skin with their color/branding during the program. For these items, revenue share is set at 30% of the net revenue going to the Pilot Team concerned.
- Pro League items: for each Pro League branded skins and charms sold, 30% of the net revenue will be split between the upcoming Six Invitational 2019 prizepool (exactly 9% of the net revenue), and equally between each of the 11 teams of the Program (for a total 21% of the net revenue).
**
**
Q: How did you select the 11 Pilot Teams?
The Pilot Program is only a start and is meant to evolve. For the first phase, we looked for established, fan-fueled across all four regions of Pro League. 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 feel comfortable with the results. They are no additional revenues source at this stage, so we do not think it is relevant to add any other potential source of revenue to teams during this first test period. However, once again, this is a first test and we will learn and iterate a lot on this first base, to reach a more finalized model soon.
Q: Why only 30% revenue share? Why not provide a share of the revenue directly to the players?**
30% of revenue sharing allows for significant extra revenue for teams to help them grow. While very few games may offer more, they are also asking more, usually under the form of direct financial investment. For the time being, we also let teams dispatch the revenue as they intent. This Pilot Program is, as the name indicates, a first test that will help us build a stronger model and ultimately a more professional Rainbow Six Pro League.
For the latest updates, please visit the Rainbow Six Esports Twitter page or Ubisoft Forums.
