Maps of Rainbow Six Siege are more than just backdrops. They are meticulously crafted, living arenas where every wall, sightline, and piece of debris becomes a part of a tactical story. And like any good story, they sometimes need thoughtful revisions and new chapters to stay fresh, challenging and beautiful for its audience.
As Siege evolves into its next chapter with Siege X, modernizing its iconic battlegrounds is a mission of passion and precision.
“Our goal was to honour the legacy and gameplay that made these maps classics, while injecting new visual clarity, atmospheric depth, and modern tech to ensure they play as good as they look,” says Team Lead Artist Christopher Smart.
“I’m incredibly proud of how the Toronto team embraced this challenge. Their passion and skill in reimagining these spaces is on full display, and it’s been amazing to see them bring these iconic locations to a new level of immersion.”
This ambitious, global effort is led by Ubisoft Montreal, with Ubisoft Toronto playing a key role by taking the lead on modernizing several key maps, including Nighthaven Labs, Skyscraper, and Theme Park.
We sat down with Texture Artists Ramil Laudico and Ryan Gao, and Lighter Yuki Kato to take a look behind the wall at that very process.
Beauty vs. function
See Siege’s maps in a new light through the eyes of Lighter Yuki Kato. She reveals how the team navigates the delicate balance between artistry and gameplay to breathe new life into iconic maps.
Q: Hey Yuki, what exactly does a Lighter do and what have you be up to on Rainbow Six Siege X?
YK: My job is to make the game beautiful using anything that can be luminous — from time of day and weather to fog, fire, and artificial lights. Lighting is often the final stage, so it has huge impact on how everyone’s amazing art comes together visually. And for me, that’s the best part! Helping bring everyone’s hard work to life, it honestly feels like magic!
Lately, I’ve been modernizing some of Siege’s maps. My focus has been on following the artistic direction from Ubisoft Montreal and elevating the mood of each space through colour and style.
Q: That sounds cool, tell us more?
YK: For Nighthaven Labs, I focused on giving its clean and white map a heavier “lab” vibe. On its interior, a key change, guided by Art Direction, was contrasting the sterile lab environment by making the waterfall more luminous and softening the sharp skylight shadows to reduce visual noise and improve player visibility.
One challenge we had was managing our “shadow budget.” Lighting is very demanding on the game engine, and to preserve smooth performance in a competitive game like Siege, we have to be strategic. In this waterfall area by the staircase, players pass through quickly, so we opted to save our shadow resources for larger combat zones where players stay and fight.
YK: As a Japanese person, I drew on personal experiences and many reference photos to rework Skyscraper. I realized the exterior should be more saturated and gave the map an orange glow more akin to its time of day, which is sunset. In its interior, I worked on the base lighting and swapped the soft pink light for a deeper neon pink tone to better match the energy and vibe of an actual Japanese karaoke bar.
YK: And lastly for the throne room in Theme Park, a colleague’s mention of the movie “The Last Emperor” inspired me to blend some blue tones into the existing golden lighting, creating a grand yet lonely atmosphere.
Q: What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome in modernizing these maps?
YK: It was balancing beauty and function. For example, using strong global illumination may ensure clear sightlines, but guess what happens? That’s right, everything starts to look too flat! On the other hand, shadows are crucial for atmosphere but overusing them results in a poor gameplay experience. After all, if you can’t see your opponent, how can you win?
When I’m stuck between what “looks best” and what “plays best,” I have a simple guiding question: “What would make the player happier?” This helps me find a path forward. Sometimes it means letting go of my “perfect” version, but I never give up on finding that happy middle ground.
Zooming in: the tactics behind textures
Let’s take a closer look at the surfaces of Siege. Texture Artists Ryan Gao and Ramil Laudico reveal how material realism impacts the game’s immersion and tactical gameplay, and how a tight-knit, collaborative process brings it all to life.
Can you share any insight on what the Texture team has been up to on Rainbow Six Siege X?
RG: We’re modernizing some iconic Siege maps here in Toronto, upgrading texture quality and resolution on some maps that are nearly 10 years old! The work ranges from huge surfaces with seamless textures to complex assets with unique UV meshes. The amount of work behind it can be surprising as sometimes a single, simple-looking prop can use over seven different materials! In total, we’ve updated hundreds of textures across three maps.
That’s incredible! Any assets that needed special attention or that you and the team are particularly proud of?
RG: We’re proud of the level of detail and realism we’ve achieved in bringing these textures into 4K. We work closely with level artists and lighters like Yuki to ensure every surface not only looks authentic but also supports clear gameplay and the intended mood of the space.
We also pay close attention to texel density to ensure every surface has a consistent finish and look cohesive compared to each other.
RG: For the ponds in Skyscraper, we switched from using clutter meshes (think hundreds of generated pebbles whose polycount is very demanding on a game’s engine) to displacement mapping (a single, smart texture with improved depth and dimensionality) resulting in a more realistic look and better game performance.
RG: To sell the narrative of an abandoned theme park, we meticulously aged the ceramic textures in the washrooms, adding cracks, chips, and grime to enhance the damaged, grungy atmosphere. Here’s a closer look at the difference:
Were there any unique challenges or considerations when creating assets for Rainbow Six Siege compared to other games?
RG: Absolutely. The core consideration is the player’s perspective—literally. When you’re on a recon drone, you get a close-up of every smudge of dirt and chipped tile on the floor. When you’re rappelling, you’re inches from the wall, so every brick and crack is visible. That’s why realistic 4K textures are so crucial.
It’s not just about immersion, but tactical clarity. Players should be able to glance at a surface and not just see how it fits into a map’s theme but also “read” its material, understanding its destructible or tactical potential at a glance.
Your team in Toronto is tight-knit, but you’re also working hand-in-hand with the lead studio in Montreal. Can you share what the team’s collaborative nature looks like in practice, and how it’s strengthened your work on the project?
RG: The collaboration has been incredible from the start. The Montreal team shared their project knowledge in such a clear, structured way that we felt integrated immediately. Even though we’re in different studios, I’ve never felt like we were two separate teams. We have this “sharing is caring” mentality where we’re constantly sharing tips and ideas and growing together.
RL: Everyone on the team is so talented and inspiring. As a senior artist, I mentor my teammates in some ways, but I prefer to say we are exchanging ideas. We critique each other’s work, which gives us a fresh perspective on approaches. It keeps me growing and just goes to show, you really can teach an old dog new tricks!
Curious about the people behind the pixels? For a closer look at their career journeys and life at Ubi, check out Yuki, Ryan and Ramil’s “People of Ubisoft Toronto” profiles.
