Rainbow Six Siege Hostage and Secure Area Return to Quick Match

Rainbow Six Siege Hostage and Secure Area are returning in Year 11 Season 4, when Ubisoft will bring Hostage and Secure Area back to the regular Quick Match rotation. Neither mode has been confirmed for Ranked with this change.

Players who miss rescuing hostages or defending a single objective room will have another way to play. The November 2 Community Checkpoint explains the plan, why the modes are returning and what Ubisoft wants to test next.

When are Rainbow Six Siege Hostage and Secure Area returning?

Ubisoft plans to include both modes in Quick Match during Y11S4. Ubisoft’s checkpoint doesn’t give a precise release day, maintenance time or week-by-week rotation calendar. As of November 5, the announcement is about a forthcoming season, not a live mode you can already queue for.

Rainbow Six Siege Hostage and Secure Area will join the normal Quick Match rotation. That does not confirm a separate permanent Hostage-only or Secure-Area-only queue. Check the playlist information after Y11S4 goes live to see which modes are currently available.

How does Hostage work in Rainbow Six Siege?

Attackers must find and rescue a hostage, carry the hostage out of the defended position and reach extraction safely. Defenders try to stop the rescue or survive until the timer runs out. Attacking the wrong person can cost you the round, because the team responsible for killing the hostage loses.

That makes Hostage different from Bomb. You’re not just looking for a safe defuser plant. Your team has to create an escape route and keep the hostage alive while moving through areas that defenders may still control.

How does Secure Area work?

Attackers find the objective room and hold it long enough to secure the area. Defenders keep attackers out or contest the room to prevent the capture. In the classic rules, attackers need ten uninterrupted seconds of control, with a defender’s presence able to contest progress.

Rainbow Six Siege Hostage and Secure Area offer alternatives to the Bomb objective in casual play. Secure Area rewards coordinated pushes into a room, while Hostage involves protecting a person during extraction. The main objectives are familiar, but they lead to different tactical decisions.

Are Rainbow Six Siege Hostage and Secure Area coming to Ranked?

No. Rainbow Six Siege Hostage and Secure Area have been announced for Quick Match only. Ubisoft hasn’t confirmed a Ranked return. The studio is considering bringing Hostage into competitive Siege much later, but it has not promised a permanent Ranked rollout or a launch date for one.

A competitive Hostage rework is due to be explored in Testing Grounds after Half Reinforcements. That is a test, not a confirmed Ranked feature. Ubisoft wants to see player feedback before deciding whether competitive Hostage would be fair or strategically interesting enough.

Why is Ubisoft bringing the modes back in Y11S4?

Ubisoft says Hostage and Secure Area haven’t received the same amount of evolution as Bomb, and player activity in those modes has been lower. Bringing them back to Quick Match gives more players the chance to try them and gives the developers better feedback.

For casual players, that means more objective variety. A rescue involves moving a vulnerable hostage to safety. Secure Area is about taking and holding a room. Bomb asks attackers to plant and defend a defuser. There is value in having all three instead of playing the same type of objective every match.

Can you choose Hostage in Quick Match?

For Rainbow Six Siege Hostage and Secure Area, Ubisoft has confirmed inclusion in the regular Quick Match rotation. It doesn’t publish a guaranteed selection menu or individual map list. Don’t assume every map supports all three modes or that you can force a Hostage match whenever you like.

When the new Quick Match rotation becomes available, use the current Quick Match information in the game to check the active mode selection. Ubisoft’s Y11S4 notes should give the final release details, rather than a player having to rely on an older community post.

Will Hostage rules be reworked before the return?

The Rainbow Six Siege Hostage and Secure Area return to Quick Match is separate from the proposed competitive Hostage rework. Ubisoft says its future Testing Grounds session will explore a revised mode after the Half Reinforcements test. That isn’t confirmation of new rescue rules in the first Y11S4 Quick Match version.

Testing Grounds experiments can change or be abandoned. It’s sensible to be excited about more variety without assuming the developer has already approved a competitive Hostage format.

The return of Rainbow Six Siege Hostage and Secure Area is one of several Y11S4 changes. Ranked is also moving toward a fixed 15-map pool, and Half Reinforcements will be explored separately in Testing Grounds. Both are covered in related guides below.

Official source: Ubisoft’s Community Checkpoint recap.