Till in the present day, Ubisoft had been planning on holding a “Six Main”, a aggressive occasion for Rainbow Six Siege gamers, in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. After a large fan protest on social media, although, the writer has now determined to maneuver the match to a different “area”.
Ubisoft’s place was that there was an “emergence of an enthusiastic aggressive Rainbow Six Siege scene within the MENA [Middle East and North Africa] area, a group of native gamers and followers we wished to focus on and rejoice”. And, to handle the elephant within the room given the potential clashes between the esports group and a authorities with little regard for primary human rights, Ubisoft additionally believed {that a} “collective settlement” between the writer, native esports accomplice and the UAE would end in an occasion “by which anybody, of all gender identities, sexual orientations, cultural backgrounds, or different particular person traits, could be included and welcomed”.
Followers and gamers, nonetheless, weren’t having any of it. Quite a few the group’s most distinguished members shortly backed a petition demanding the match be moved, which was signed by over 13,000 folks:
UAE or United Arab Emirates has documented severe LGBTQ+ proper points prior to now 12 months, criminalising homosexuality leading to floggings, fines, deportation, chemical castration, compelled conversion remedy, honour killings, vigilante execution and extra.
With the inclusion of LGBTQ+ members of R6:S expertise, we consider as a collective that this choice is short-sighted, harmful and backwards to the growing ideology of esports, Rainbow Six: Siege and it’s group.
Solely 24 hours later, Ubisoft responded by asserting the match could be shifted, having “loud and clear that members of the worldwide Siege group query this alternative”. In an announcement, the writer stated:
Final Sunday, we introduced our plans to arrange a Six Main within the United Arab Emirates. Over the previous 6 years, we’ve seen the emergence of an enthusiastic aggressive Rainbow Six Siege scene within the MENA area, a group of native gamers and followers we wished to focus on and rejoice.
We need to stress that the protection and wellbeing of our occasion’s contributors and workers is at all times our major concern, and we’re happy with what Rainbow Six Siege represents as a world the place variety, inclusion and acceptance are at its core. Selecting this location for a Six Main was the results of intensive discussions with our native groups within the area, the UAE authorities, and our native Esports partener, and their collective dedication {that a} Six Main in Abu Dhabi could be an occasion by which anybody, of all gender identities, sexual orientations, cultural backgrounds, or different particular person traits, could be included and welcomed, as has been the case with humorous different occasions beforehand held within the metropolis.
With that in thoughts, we additionally hear loud and clear that members of the worldwide Siege group query this alternative, and we have now taken the choice to maneuver the Six Main of August 2022 to a different Rainbow Six Esports area, with the precise location but to be decided. Within the spirit of fostering all our native communities world wide, in all their variety, dedication and keenness for the sport, we are going to carry on growing and structuring our aggressive actions in MENA, by way of native and regional tournaments and activations. The MENA area has been quick evolving right into a key online game hub on the planet, and we’re humbled by the extent of engagement, help and dedication of each our native followers and the gifted workers of our MENA groups and Abu Dhabi improvement studio. Mirroring the dedication and ambition of our groups within the area over the previous 10 years, we’re devoted to investing in our rising native esports scenes to assist them attain their full potential and embrace them, as a part of the worldwide Rainbow Six Siege group.
Because the assertion says, whereas the match has been moved, a alternative metropolis has but to be decided.
