Ubisoft have released news for an upcoming update for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege which could change many assets from maps in the game.

Emphasizing the changes were purely aesthetical, Ubisoft stated:

“We are currently working towards preparing Rainbow Six Siege for expansion into Asian territories. As such, there will be some adjustments made to our maps and icons to ensure compliance. None of these changes will have an impact on gameplay.”

These changes include removing or modifying any content related to sex, death, and gambling. A gallery of these changes can be found below.

While games have been modified for regions such as Germany and China before, this usually resorted in another “branch” of the game- the same code with the graphical assets modified.

These branches typically do not require changes to the code, and so should be able to play online with those who did not have the changes. Think of this like modding your copy of a game with different models- you are usually still able to play online, since only you can see the models you altered on your game.

Despite this, Ubisoft claims having “a single, global version” will streamline production time.

“By maintaining a single build, we are able to reduce the duplication of work on the development side. This will allow us to be more agile as a development team, and address issues more quickly.”

Ubisoft also rather ominously promises this is an attempt to be future proof.

“Having the same people working on a singular global version of the game ensures we only need to do the work once. In addition, we can guarantee that any future changes are aligned with the global regulations we are working towards.”

At this time, there is certainly no regulation of video game content (or any media) that is approved of by all nations of the world. Instead, each individual nation has its own regulatory bodies to cite what is and is not appropriate for its citizens.

Finally, Ubisoft closed stating yet again the gameplay would not be altered.

“We have a commitment to ensure that the Rainbow Six Siege experience remains true to its roots. We are adjusting art and visuals, but are not compromising what makes Rainbow Six Siege the game you know today.”

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is out now on Windows PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. What do you think of this? Sound off in the comments below!