Four years after launch Rainbow Six: Siege has set a new record for the number of concurrent players online at the same time. The new record on steam is 180,463 players, which beats the previous record of 178,824 that was set just hours earlier. The feat is quite impressive considering that some players don't use Steam and play on Uplay or consoles instead. One of the reasons why it could have set the record is because the game was on sale to celebrate its fifth anniversary.

Despite its age, Rainbow Six is going through a resurgence and January 2020 had an average count of 94,185 players, the highest it's ever been.  According to the figures, the number of Rainbow Six Players has been steadily growing over the last year. In 2019 it hit a total of 55 million players and gained 20 million players since June 2018. One of the reasons why it could have set the record is because the game is currently on sale.

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According to Gamespot, the record set by Rainbow Six was still far behind the concurrent counts of other games in the same timeframe. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive had 896,092 players, Dota 2 had 647,060, PUBG had 584,139, and Grand Theft Auto V had 228,023 players concurrently playing. Earlier this month, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive also hit a new record of over 900,000 concurrent players, and that's in its eighth year of release.

Rainbow Six initially had a rocky start when it was released back in 2015. The game's release had to be delayed by a couple of months to get the multiplayer element right. They also had a problem with the beta testing. The game has come a long way since then and has established itself as one of the best tactical shooters, as well as one of the most popular esports. This is due to Ubisoft's constant improvements to the game. In its lifetime, Rainbow Six has received countless updates to keep it fresh with the addition of new maps, weapons, and operators.

The future is looking bright for the game. The new update called Void Edge will be released and The Six Invitational Tournament that just wrapped up in Montreal was a resounding success. Ubisoft has also released their plans for giving the game an extensive overhaul over the next couple of years. Players can also look forward to the forthcoming Rainbow Six: Quarantine, which will be set in the future and involve battles with alien parasites.

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Sources: Gamespot, VG247