How to play Rainbow 6 Extraction with friends via crossplay

Crossplay for Rainbow 6 Extraction is on by default, meaning you can matchmake into incursions with anyone, regardless of their chosen platform. However, if you’ve got friends that you want to play Rainbow 6 Extraction with on different platforms, you’ll need to make sure you and your friends have a Ubisoft Connect account. If you don’t already have one, set one up by going to the Ubisoft Connect website. Once you’re logged into Ubisoft Connect, click on your profile picture in the top-right corner to open a menu and select the ‘Account Management’ option.

Now click ‘Account Information’ and scroll down to the ‘Linked Accounts’ section. From here you can link your Xbox and PlayStation accounts to your Ubisoft Connect account. For other gaming platforms, such as the Epic Games Store on PC or streaming services like Google Stadia and Amazon Luna, you’ll be prompted to log in to your Ubisoft Connect account as you boot up the game for the first time to link your accounts. Buying Rainbow 6 Extraction for PC through the Ubisoft Store will mean your Ubisoft Connect account is used automatically, so you don’t need to worry about linking.

With your linked Ubisoft Connect accounts set up, you now need to add each other as friends. If you’re still on the Ubisoft Connect website, you can click the icon next to your profile picture in the top-right corner to open the Friends List. Click the ‘Add friends’ button and type in your friends’ Ubisoft Connect usernames to add them. Alternatively, you can add your friends in-game by opening up the Squad menu with Y on and Xbox controller or Triangle on a PlayStation controller. Navigate to the ‘Add Friends’ section and you can type in your friends’ Ubisoft usernames here too.

Once they’ve accepted your friend request, they’ll show up in your Squad menu under your Ubisoft Connect friends. Note that Ubisoft Connect usernames will always be used in-game and actual gamertags can only be seen if you’re playing with someone on the same platform. You can invite them to your squad and from there, you can venture into overrun sectors of New York, San Francisco, and other parts of the USA to tackle the alien Achaean Parasite.

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What are Rainbow 6 Extraction Incursions?

The main mission type in Rainbow 6 Extraction is Incursions. In short, these are multi-stage missions with three random, optional objectives that see you studying and fighting the spread of the Parasite and the Archaean enemies. You have four different regions to choose from – New York City, San Francisco, Alaska, and Truth and Consequences – which sort of act as individual campaigns. Each of these regions features three Hot Zones which are the levels within the locations. Pick a region and then a Hot Zone to begin an Incursion mission.

As you load in, you’ll be shown the three objectives you can complete and any rewards you’ll get for completing them. Each Hot Zone level is split into three Sub-Zones, with each one containing one of the objectives. Every Sub-Zone has an Extraction Point that allows you to call in a helicopter at any time to pick the team up and end the mission. Each of the Sub-Zones is separated by an Airlock that sometimes contains a random assortment of supply kits to resupply your ammo, temporary health, REACT Tech, or your Operator Abilities. Pay attention to what you’ll be up against so that you can coordinate with your squad to create an effective team of varied Operators and loadouts on the next screen – you can use our Rainbow Six Extraction best operators recommendations to help you out.

After readying up, you’ll be dropped into the first Rainbow 6 Extraction Sub-Zone to complete your first objective. Once you’ve done that, you can either follow the helicopter waypoint to the Extraction Point or keep going to the next Sub-Zone by heading to the Airlock waypoint. The first objective is typically quite easy and the Archaean threat is minor, particularly on lower difficulties, so we recommend going ahead unless you really don’t need to. Head to the Airlock to heal up, resupply, and prepare for the next Sub-Zone.

It’s worth mentioning that failing or simply not fully completing an objective does not end your Incursion. Obviously, you won’t get any of the promised rewards from doing so, but it’s entirely possible to intentionally skip an objective and move straight to the Airlock or Extraction Point to move on. Be aware that the Airlocks are one-way, so you cannot backtrack to a previous Sub-Zone if you skip an objective. However, you’ve got 15 minutes for each of the objectives, which is plenty of time to at least attempt them.

Now, let’s say you breeze through the second Sub-Zone and make it to the final objective. If you complete it, you can head straight for the Extraction Point and get out of the Hot Zone to end the mission and get your rewards. Given that things escalate during Incursions, it’s possible that a member of your team got taken out by the Archaeans along the way. This will render them MIA and that player will be completely out of the mission and unable to play that Operator in future Incursions until they are rescued. The Rainbow Six Extraction MIA operators mechanic is a little complicated but an essential aspect of the game. Spending too long in a Sub-Zone can also trigger a Parasite swarm event which can result in more MIAs if you don’t extract or retreat to an airlock quickly enough.

Rainbow 6 Extraction Incursion objectives

Every Incursion gives you three objectives that you can complete at your discretion. These can range from taking down a particularly powerful enemy, to gathering information or defending an area. You can read about each Incursion Sub-Zone objective and other Rainbow 6 Extraction modes under the ‘Protocols’ tab of the Codex. Here’s every Incursion objective, as well as how to complete it:

• Specimen: Capture a particular Archaean target by luring them into a trap. To do this, you need to get the Specimen’s attention so that it will try to attack and follow you. Make sure you do not kill the Specimen and stay out of its reach to avoid getting hit. Now, lead the Specimen to the trap area. It’s a good idea to have one person ready to arm the trap. The Specimen will be encased in REACT Foam when the trap is triggered.
• Nest Tracking: Inject multiple Nests with an Autotracker. Stealth is required for this objective as the nests need to be dormant for them to be injected with a tracker. If an injected Nest is ever destroyed, you’ll lose the tracker too. For this objective, carefully explore the area until you find a cluster of Nests. Quickly and quietly inject the requires amount and then move on to avoid detection.
• Decontamination: Destroy all Aberrant Nests and the Malignant Neoplasm. To get this done, you need to find the area with all the green Aberrant Nests. There are a lot of them, and you need to destroy them all as quickly as possible. Be aware that destroying one Aberrant Nest awakens the rest, causing Archaeans to spawn over time and making your job harder, so speed is crucial. Once all Aberrant Nests have been destroyed, look for the green, glowing Malignant Neoplasm and destroy it.
• Shutdown: Retrieve REACT canisters from the Sub-Zone Extraction Pod and plant them at the marked Parasite root system. To do this objective, you need to carefully carry three cannisters to the marked target and plant them. The cannisters can explode if they are hit. While carrying a cannister, you can use only your secondary weapon, so it’s a good idea to have one or two players that don’t carry any cannisters so that they can defend their teammates.
• Hunt: You need to kill a certain number of a specific Archeaen enemy type to lure out an alpha Archaean variant. Find and kill the variant by any means to complete this objective. This variant is more powerful than usual, so be careful when fighting it.
• Triangulation: For this objective, you need to find three seismic stations within the Sub-Zone and activate them in order. Firstly, focus on finding the stations and pay attention to their labels. Once your squad has found them all, activate the first station and then quickly activate the second station and then the third. A timer starts after activating the first station, so it’s important to be quick. Having one player ready at each station is an efficient strategy.
• Serial Scan: To do this objective, you need to locate and interact with a REACT Catalyst Emitter to reveal three zones that need to be defended for a short time. Each zone consists of a yellow pad on the floor with blue, ghostly shapes floating above it. Sticking together is really important while capturing the zones as Archaeans are attracted by the Catalyst Emitter, so they will find and attack you no matter what. Because stealth is redundant, stick with your squad and use whatever best Rainbow Six Extraction guns you can to avoid MIAs.
• Biopsy: To complete this Sub-Zone objective, you need to take down an alpha-variant Archaean. The “take down” phrasing means it has to be done with your REACT Blade which means stealth is advised. You can stealthily approach the target to take it down with the knife, but if you alert the target, you need to incapacitate it. This can be done with various Operator Abilities, such as Vigil’s ERC-8 Disruptor, or with REACT Tech, such as Smoke Grenades.
• Rescue: A REACT field researcher needs to be rescued in a Sub-Zone. To do this, you need to locate the researcher and defend them from any attacking Archaeans. Once found, one player needs to carry the researcher to the Extraction Pod at the Sub-Zone’s Extraction Point. This player can use only their secondary weapon while assisting the researcher.
• No One Left Behind: If things go awry during your Incursion and a squadmate gets knocked out and ‘cheesed’, any surviving players must take the Operator’s foamy body to the Sub-Zone’s Extraction Pod. If this is not done and the survivors extract or head into an Airlock, the knocked-out player will become MIA the Operator must be rescued in another Incursion.
• MIA Rescue: MIA Rescues always appear when a player in the squad has an Operator that went MIA in a particular Hot Zone. For example, if you went MIA as Doc in the New York City Liberty Island Hot Zone, the next time you started An Incursion in the same Hot Zone, one of your objectives will be to rescue Doc. To complete this objective, you need to pull the Operator out of an Archaean Tree. This tree constantly tries to pull in the Operator, so your squad needs to destroy anchor points and cells along the tree’s tendrils to weaken it. The weaker the tree is, the easier it is to pull the Operator free. Once you’ve got the MIA Operator out of the tree, carry their cheesed body to the Extraction Pod. It’s important to note that you have a few chances to rescue an MIA Operator. Even if you fail at every chance to rescue them, they will eventually get automatically rescued, but it will cost all the XP that they would have gained from the mission.

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Earlier this week, it was revealed that Rainbow Six Extraction would be available as a day one Xbox Game Pass title across PC and Xbox devices when it launches later this month. However, Ubisoft revealed alongside the announcement that its Ubisoft+ subscription service would be coming to Xbox consoles at some point in the future, but when it arrives, it won’t be bundled into Xbox Game Pass.

Currently, the Ubisoft+ subscription service is available on PC, offering over 100 Ubisoft-made games for a single monthly cost. “Ultimately, we will offer the Ubisoft+ subscription service to Xbox owners so that they can enjoy the full extent of our Ubisoft+ game library, including new releases, on their consoles,” said an Ubisoft spokesperson (via Eurogamer (opens in new tab)). 

If you’re curious about what Ubisoft’s subscription service is currently offering, it bundles in games both old and new into one package. For example, you can play the likes of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Far Cry 6, Watch Dogs Legion, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, and more, as well as getting access to post-launch content with Season and Expansion Passes, like the Rider’s Republic and Anno 1800 passes.

Elsewhere though, Rainbow Six Extraction will be included for all Xbox Game Pass subscribers across both PC and Xbox consoles later this month on January 20. Extraction pits four players against alien-like monsters, tasking them to get safely in and out of a hostile zone within a certain time limit and existing mission parameters. It’s sure looking like one of the more high profile Xbox Game Pass launches in recent memory.

You can check out our Rainbow Six Extraction PC system requirements for everything you need to know about running the game on your rig.

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Your squad of three Operators aren’t supposed to hunker down for weeks with a Netflix subscription and an endless supply of snacks. Their mission is to enter Rainbow Six Extraction’s alien-infested zones, complete their assigned tasks, and get the hell out of dodge before things start to turn sideways. 

And believe me, having now spent a significant amount of time exploring those zones for myself, I can assure you that no one would want to spend a single minute of quarantine within them, even if it meant getting to enjoy a two week holiday in Seychelles. 

“We wanted a name that better reflected where the game had gotten to,” says game designer Alicia Fortier of the project’s new moniker. “The aim was to make something that is riffing off of the Rainbow Six universe, but in a completely new angle than what people are used to.”

Name of the game

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Set several years after the events of Siege’s competitive showdowns, Rainbow Six Extraction imagines a future where aliens have superseded terrorists as enemy number one for Team Rainbow. A parasitic extra-terrestrial force known as the Archæans have spread across the planet, and it’s up to our team of elite Operators to put an end to the outbreak. 

You’ll do so by heading into their nests and completing up to three randomly assigned objectives of escalating difficulty, which can range from luring an Elite enemy back to base for research purposes, to destroying their bioorganic infrastructure with some well-placed C4. After completing each objective, however, you’ll need to make a decision to either to begin the next, or exfiltrate out of the zone with your life still intact. That choice folds a risk-reward dimension into play that echoes a similar structure to Call of Duty’s recent Zombies modes, especially as both health, ammo, and Operator abilities are far from infinite, with only a few opportunities to resupply between objectives. 

One of the more interesting variants on those objectives borrows ideas from an unlikely source in the form of the XCOM series. Should your Operator fall in the quarantine zone, and your teammates fail to haul your body back to the exil point, they’ll become Missing in Action, and you won’t be able to play as them again until you rescue them from the map in which they were downed. This rescue mission will take the form of an objective all of its own, as you attempt to pry the Operators comatose body from an eldritch Archæan tree before their life source is drained completely. 

While Extraction won’t ever kill your Operators permanently, as can be the case in XCOM, this more lasting penalty for failure raises the stakes of each mission, encouraging more cautious, considered, co-operative runs amongst squads, where every life really does count. Fortier does explain, however, that an in-game failsafe assures you’ll always have someone to play as, so as to prevent losing all of your Operators until there’s no one left to save them.

“The Missing in Action system is really crucial to creating that sense of tension within the game,” she continues. “We wanted to make sure that this was the sort of co-op game that still felt fair, but you feel like there’s a risk, as though you’re putting it all on the line, and whether you succeed or not is deserved based on the actions you took in the match. It’s something that was really important to our game loop. But we had to be really mindful about how we implemented it.”

And the more Operators you have at your disposal, the better, as team composition in Extraction is as critical as it is in Siege. A number of familiar faces, such as Sledge and Hibana, are still enlisted in Extraction’s future timeline, but Ubisoft Montreal has also introduced new Operators specifically designed around the game’s co-op, PvE focus. “It’s a good introduction to the Rainbow Six universe,” says Fortier of Extraction’s cast of super skilled soldiers, “but it’s also a great attraction for existing Siege players.” 

No room for error

For those teams that do make it to the third and final objective in Extraction’s levels, don’t expect a cakewalk. Ubisoft Montreal has intentionally designed a shooter that places a premium on survival, as opposed to power fantasies. Take Sprawl; a calcifying slime which coats the floors, walls, and ceilings of environments in real time, slowing any players and buffing any Archæans who come into contact with it. Players can shoot at the Sprawl to push back against its spread and carve out paths for themselves, but it doesn’t take long for entire rooms to be covered in the stuff if you’re not careful, creating hellish situations where you’re not sure whether to shoot at the goo beneath your feet, or the hordes running headfirst towards your friends. 

“We designed Sprawl to be a really dynamic system,” explains Fortier. “It considers where the enemies are going to be spawning, it reacts when it’s shot, and it has implications on gameplay for both your squad and the AI. Working on the Sprawl has opened a million doors that are way more complicated than you first expect, especially in a game that has destruction, but our tech team really worked hard to carry that through and bring it to the best level of experience.”

Ubisoft Montreal hopes to be able to support Rainbow Six Extraction with new content and updates well beyond its launch day later this year. While my hands-on makes it hard to know whether the game holds the same degree of replay value as its Siege counterpart, the ongoing legacy of that live service proves that Ubisoft knows what it’s doing when it comes to giving Team Rainbow plenty of new things to do. 

Fortier isn’t able to give specifics of what that might look like for Extraction, as the team is simply focused on preparing Extraction for launch in the not-too-distant future. After almost two years of radio silence, she says, the team at Ubisoft Montreal couldn’t be more excited to finally show what it’s been cooking up: “We’re lucky enough to have a group of players who are really, really excited for this new experience; people who are very much hungry for a co-op. PvE Rainbow Six game. We’re very happy to be able to deliver this to that audience.”

For more, check out our breakdown of the Battlefield 2042 maps available at launch, or watch our review of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart below. 

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