In a crossover that no one saw coming, the iconic Master Chief from Xbox’s legendary Halo franchise is suiting up for tactical combat duty in Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege. This marks the first time the renowned sci-fi supersoldier has breached Siege’s gritty, grounded tactical universe as an Elite operator skin.
Siege has built its longevity as an ongoing live service title through constant innovation, with wacky pop culture crossovers now a staple. But recruiting Master Chief, the very face of Xbox and Microsoft’s gaming ecosystem, elevates this crossover craze to new heights.
Chief Dons Sleek Halo Infinite Armour Design in Rainbow Six Siege
The reveal came courtesy of a brief video posted by leaker Klobrille, showcasing the Chief in his sleek Halo Infinite-inspired Mjolnir armour. Surprisingly, he’s wielding the signature sledgehammer of Siege operator Sledge, altered slightly to evoke Halo’s devastating Gravity Hammers. An animation displays the Chief utilising his new grapple shot ability from Infinite to crush a plasma grenade with the sledgehammer.
It’s certainly an odd sight seeing the Chief swinging a sledgehammer rather than firing away with his usual UNSC arsenal. But his pairing with Sledge makes sense, as both exemplify the faces of their respective franchises.
Some kinks clearly still need ironing out though, as the hammer clips through the back armour in certain poses. Equipping the skin on a different operator like Smoke could resolve the issue before the bundle’s presumed launch.
The Chief skin caps off a string of gaming crossovers for Siege, like Assassin’s Creed and Nier Automata. But this crossover reaches deeper, uniting two seminal Xbox shooter franchises under one roof. It reflects Xbox’s push to integrate its portfolio, while highlighting Siege’s quest for perpetual novelty amidst its ninth year of operation.
Of course, novelty alone can’t sustain the title forever, as seen by the middling reception to last year’s PvE spinoff Rainbow Six Extraction. All eyes are on Ubisoft’s upcoming free-to-play title XDefiant, which also blends factions from Ubisoft classics. It remains to be seen whether it can dethrone the tactical shooter king, but Rainbow Six Siege clearly won’t go down without a fight.
The age of gaming crossovers has only just begun, but Master Chief parachuting into the world of Rainbow Six remains a surreal sight to behold. While the details are still hazy, players can likely expect to recruit the legendary supersoldier by Heavy Mettle season’s end.
Rainbow Six Siege is out now on Windows PC, Luna, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
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Stephen is the proud owner of a popular gaming news website GLN, where he provides the latest updates on everything gaming-related. With a passion for video games that dates back to his childhood, Stephen is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and expertise with fellow gamers around the world.