Ubisoft has many exciting prospects, including the upcoming mobile strategic shooter Rainbow Six Mobile. Since its announcement in 2022, Rainbow Six Mobile is set to become one of the best games on Android. And if you're curiously aiming to get a preview of how Ubisoft handles this hero shooter on your Android gaming phone before launch, we've structured a beginner's guide that contains insight into how matches play out while offering a hands-on approach.

How matches work in Rainbow Six Mobile

Rainbow Six Mobile is a free-to-play first-person shooter that throws you into quick (mostly) 5v5 PvP matches. Matches are split into phases or rounds. After queuing into a match, you can select your operator and prepare for the first round of attack or defense during the set-up phase. The match continues for multiple rounds until a winning team is decided.

Selecting your game mode

Tap Play on the main screen. Then you can select the map/game mode (if there's an option next to the Start button). You'll enter the queue, and a match will be found shortly.

Choosing your operator (character)

After loading into a match, you're thrown on a team with four other players. You'll choose from a pool of characters (operators); the pool depends on if you're on the attack or the defense. Each operator holds a unique ability. Some operators specialize in setting special traps to scout or slow down your foes, while others are more effective in bringing more offensive power during breaching.

There isn't enough time to read through your operator's abilities during the selection phase since everything is on a timer, so we recommend looking through the Operator menu (located on the home screen) before queuing into a match.

Preparation phase

Your drone provides a camera view to gain information and survey the area. Enemy players that spot your drone can destroy it, so be sneaky. Drones are only available during the initial attack phase.

You'll stage inside the building so you can place down traps and plan your strategy around the building's choke points (if you're on the defending side). Be on the lookout for enemy drones that might scout your set-up beforehand, and shoot them.

Swapping sides

After winning/losing a round, your team has to choose new operators and begin a new preparation phase. If the second round is tied, the match continues to the third round to determine the winner. Rule a thumb: If finishing an attack round, you'll defend next, and vice-versa.

Best out of three

The first team to win two out of three rounds is the victor. Next up is crowning the MVP on the winning side and viewing the match's scoreboard.

Game modes in Rainbow Six Mobile

Game modes are presented as events in Rainbow Six Mobile to keep your matches feeling fresh. You'll cycle through different events as you play; the events have displayed timers and a map playlist for each mode. The main two modes explore in the alpha test are Bomb and Secure Area. Don't worry if you're unfamiliar with how these modes play out. We'll be breaking those down in this section.

Bomb

• Two teams will duke it out to defend a bomb from defusion or play to defuse the bomb.
• Locate the bombs on the map, either planning a way to access the bomb or placing traps nearby to slow down the attackers.
• One player on the attacking team will carry the defuser, which is essential for the disarm process; if this player dies, the defuser will drop and have to be picked up by someone else.
• The defending team prevents the bombs from being located and disarmed by eliminating the opposing team's players or destroying the planted defuser.

Secure Area

• Two teams fight to control an objective, such as a map section like a room inside a building.
• The attacking team must fight for objective control for a set time.
• The attacking team wins by successfully holding the objective without any contest from the defending team after the timer finishes.
• The defending team wins by eliminating all players on the attacking team to prevent them from taking control of the objective after the timer ends.

What's next for Rainbow Six Mobile?

Ubisoft's free-to-play Rainbow Six mobile iteration offers plenty of tactical shooting that resembles Siege, released on console and PC in 2015. So fans of the original should be excited to see the IP making a mark on mobile, and we have seen games like Call of Duty Mobile and PUBG flourish on the platform as being one of the best FPS games to hit Android. So let's hope it makes a similar impressionable mark on the platform once Rainbow Six Mobile lands. But for now, we've included the pre-registration below so you can potentially join in on the early action as it releases.