Rainbow 6 Siege is free this weekend

Rainbow Six Siege Pro League

It may not be the best timing, given that it clashes with the soon-to-be-live Doom multplayer open beta, but Ubisoft is making its team-based FPS Rainbow Six Siege free to play for the weekend.

Beginning now and running until 1 pm PT on April 17, Rainbow Siege Six will be fully available on Steam and Uplay at no cost. If you dig it, you can pick up the standard edition of the game for 33 percent off ($40/£27), or the Gold Edition, which includes the season pass, for 40 percent off ($54/£33). Player progression will carry over from the freebie if you opt to purchase it, so you can go as bonkers as you want without fear of wasting your time.

Ubisoft also announced that the second season of the Rainbow Six Pro League will begin on the PC on June 2, with a $150,000 up for grabs. Ahead of that, the top teams from Europe and North America will square off for the Season One Championship title, and $50,000 in prize money for the winning team. The PC finals will go down on May 7 in Cologne, Germany, and will be broadcast live on Twitch. More information about Pro League competition and qualifiers is up at rainbow6.com.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.