Season 3 of year 7 for Rainbow Six Siege has stormed the building, entitled Operation Brutal Swarm. It comes armed with new content and gameplay improvements, flanked by special offers and promotions to mark its release.

There is now a new operator to choose from called Grim. He is billed as a high-speed character with the trade-off being that he has low health. His arsenal includes a 552 Commando or SG-CQB as his main and a P229 as his alt. His gadget is a Kawan Hive Launcher, which fires nanobots that give away enemy positions until their batteries deplete.

Back by popular demand is a revamped version of the Stadium map, under the new guise of Stadium Bravo. It takes elements from other maps and features indestructible glass, and its unique layout is being touted as a new challenge for players on both teams.

Operation Brutal Swarm also comes with recoil improvements for all weaponry, which will see the intensity of the effect increase the longer you hold the trigger. This overhaul will only apply to PC versions, with consoles getting their own tweaks at a later date to account for the experiential difference of using a controller. Extra weapon attachment options and the removal of a damage penalty for suppressed weapons have also come into effect.

The new season also sees the introduction of Phase 2 of the reputation system, which includes the ability to sanction in-game text chat and report cheating players when viewing a match replay. Other updates include the option to choose EMP grenades in the load-outs for selected operators, five maps in the Map Ban phase, and changes to the tactical map.

The Battle Pass perk is back, offering a 10% discount off all items in the shop, which will also be available for forthcoming Battle Passes too. A new promotion is now live as well, the Buy For A Friend Battle Pass Program, which lets players buy premium Battle Passes for others.

Rainbow Six Siege is available on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S. It is also available via Ubisoft’s subscription service, Ubisoft+. If you link this service to Amazon Luna or Stadia, then you can also play it on those platforms.