Maxime Vial: As An Esports Fan, I’m Really Excited

As Siege recently celebrated 10 years as a game and an esports, we were invited out to see what was next for the game in Year 11 and, crucially, what it means for the esports side of the game.

Hotspawn was lucky enough to go to Paris to see the Year 11 content early, but while there, we got to sit down with the esports team behind Siege. We spoke with Maxime Vial, Esports Director for Siege, and Sebastien Rattor, SR Director Competitive Products at Ubisoft.

We got to chat about how host cities are selected, how the game is still evolving after 10 years and exciting new fans around the world, while also expanding into new markets. We also saw the expansion of the R6 Share program, and briefly spoke about how Siege Mobile might impliment Esports in the future.

Selecting a Host City

Getting the right location is a key part of any esports event. Things have to be considered such as, fans, team locations, culture, and the time zones and logistics of the country. At Ubisoft, these things are key on their mind when choosing where to go next with Siege.

Maxime Vial, ERsports Director on Siege, stressed that it was not a quick process, and a lot of key factors must be considered.

“It’s a long-term process and a collective one as well. There are multiple people involved. We are looking at multiple criteria, such as the capacity of a city to host such an esports event, the community as well, and how Siege is established within a certain country”

He added that market goals also matter when building the event roadmap, saying, “When you mix all of that, when we are looking to what we believe could be, in terms of perspective, where we want the market to grow potentially, or when we want to reconnect with people, how do we define that roadmap?” On specific examples, he said, “So that’s why Japan and Brazil were our key markets as well as these are key locations for Siege”

Why New Global Events Such as the EWC and ENC Matter to Siege Esports

Speaking about The Esports World Cup 2026 becoming part of the official Siege Esports calendar, Vial called it an important step.

“You’re right, to be honest, it’s a big deal because we are very proud. First to get invited to get to the next step with them, and we see a lot of potential as well with this competition.

He also noted that it’s a lot to do with pro player and community expectations, adding that “It’s not only us that we feel that it reflects on, it’s what pro players, and also the community expects. So we are pushing it, step by step. This one is the next step to make it more legit.  So I think overall, as a more unified approach, makes more sense. But, it’s an ongoing work, you know, to find the right spot, the right way to make this event, something successful, and for every stakeholder, I know, including the player and the Esports World Cup foundation as well.

Addition of the ENC to Siege

It was also confirmed recently that Siege Esports would be joining the new ENC Nations League event in November 2026. This removes the “team” aspect from EWC and instead pits nations against one another across multiple esports events.

Speaking to Sebastien Ratto, SR Director Competitive Products, spoke about this latest addition to Siege Esports. “Nation-based is something that we’ve never done on Siege. And yes, with it comes several questions, like, how are you going to frame a competition like this? What is the format going to be? But also, how are you going to select the team?”

He explained that work is already underway with partners, adding, “We’ve been partnering with this Esports Foundation since last August to work on that and define what the Siege competition [there] could look like.”

Despite the open questions, he is positive about the format, saying, “That’s super exciting because, like you know, this notion of nation-based competition we know it very well in more traditional spots. So seeing what this can look like for Esports is something that, as an esports fan i’m really excited about.”

Asked which countries could stand out, he said, “In Siege, we see how strong Brazil is. So it’s tough to think that Brazil wouldn’t be one of the absolute Juggernauts of such a nation-based competition.” He added, “I like to think that France also could contend at a very, very high level there.”

How R6 Share Teams are Selected

Three new organisations have been confirmed to join the R6 Share program, with Shopify Rebellion, Virtus.pro, and 100 Thieves. Discussing how organisations are chosen for the R6 Share programme, Ratto pointed to impact and alignment.

He said, “We work basically looking at different criteria of how teams can have an impact. It’s looking at how a team overall can contribute to the success and the visibility of the brand.” Applications are part of the process, as he explained: “organisations go through an actual application process… showing us how they plan on supporting their rosters, what they’re going to do, and the confidence, we can have in that.”

He also noted future potential matters, saying, “there’s that X Factor of okay, where we want to see some growth. What are the opportunities that can arise from working with new partners?”

It was also announced after our interview that China would be getting its own breakout league within Siege Esports, and part of that will include the R6 Share program.

In-game team items and dev support

On creating in-game items for partner teams, Ratto said the esports and development sides work closely together.

He said, “One of the unique features that we pride ourselves on is that we allow organisations to have a pretty deep level of customisation in game. They’re not just slapping their logo on the skin.”

He added, “We allow them to create full-on visuals, and we work with them to integrate them. So that they’re fitting to the constraints of the game.” He estimated that “a good third of the production process of any partner skin that goes in the game, that is done with the organisation.”

Ten years of Siege Esports

Speaking about the impact of Siege Esports, especially the game’s recent growth on the esports stage, Vial linked it to long-term work.

He said, “It’s super exciting for us. I mean, it’s, 10 years of work, 10 years of game, 10 years of Esports. You see the results, which are amazing.” He also pointed to future upside, adding, “the potential is, I mean, it’s huge… So yeah, exciting… I would say the best is still to come.”

The Siege Mobile Approach

Looking at Rainbow Six Siege Mobile, Vial said esports plans will wait until after launch performance is clear.

He said, “Before thinking about how to build an esport ecosystem, we just need to see how the game is going to be welcomed by the community and how the competitive aspect is going to be at the core.”

Only then will competition be tested, starting small. In his words, “If we feel ready to take another step… maybe slow, you know, having a local competition first, and to see if we can build a full flash ecosystem.”

Siege Mobile is due to release worldwide on February 23rd, and the developers have big plans to make it the right game for fans of Siege on PC and Console, but they are clear that this is its own game.