Codename Spades: Nearly 20 Years After the Original, Ubisoft Montreal Greenlights a New Rainbow Six: Vegas Sequel
Nearly two decades after sending Logan Keller's squad rappelling down the neon-lit facades of the Sin City Strip, Ubisoft is preparing to reopen the casino doors of Nevada. According to a new report from industry journalist and insider Tom Henderson, the publisher has officially greenlit the development of a brand-new installment in the Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas sub-series. Led by the veteran teams at Ubisoft Montreal, the project marks a long-awaited return to story-driven, squad-based tactical action after more than a decade dominated by the competitive multiplayer ecosystem of Rainbow Six Siege.
Codename "Spades": A Full-Fledged Sequel Rather Than a Simple Remake
Known internally under the working codename "Spades" (a fitting nod to the card tables of Las Vegas), the revival is currently in its early stages of production at Ubisoft Montreal. According to sources familiar with the studio's roadmap cited by Tom Henderson, the project is not envisioned as a simple graphical remaster or a 1:1 remake of the classic installments released in November 2006 and March 2008 during the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC era.
Instead, internal plans point toward a brand-new, full-fledged sequel that would effectively serve as Rainbow Six: Vegas 3. Because development is still in its infancy, specific gameplay pillars and the final commercial title remain subject to change ahead of an official reveal, which is still expected to be several years away given modern AAA production timelines.
Three New Projects at Ubisoft Montreal and the Vantage Studios Strategy
Project Spades is not an isolated initiative on the Canadian studio's floor. According to Tom Henderson, the return to Las Vegas is one of three new projects recently spun up at Ubisoft Montreal, alongside a second unannounced title also set within the broader Rainbow Six universe. After canceling the narrative-heavy Rainbow 6: Patriots in 2013 to pivot toward Rainbow Six Siege (launched in December 2015) and releasing the divisive co-op spin-off Rainbow Six Extraction in 2022, the Montreal studio is finally putting traditional CQB squad campaigns back on its slate.
This renewed push arrives one year after the creation of Vantage Studios, the dedicated Ubisoft subsidiary backed by a 26.32% stake from Tencent that oversees the company's three largest flagship franchises: Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. As the publisher trims underperforming mobile and secondary experiments, highlighted recently by its decision to pull the plug by shutting down Rainbow Six Mobile just seven months after its global launch, leadership is doubling down on core PC and console pillars with proven heritage.
Why the Original Vegas Duology (2006-2008) Remains a Tactical Shooter Benchmark
Released in November 2006 and followed by Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 in March 2008, Ubisoft Montreal's two-part Nevada campaign redefined tactical shooters for the HD console generation. By trading the rigid pre-mission blueprint planning of earlier PC entries for fluid, real-time squad commands, the series pioneered a seamless camera transition between first-person gunplay and third-person blind-fire cover.
- Vertical Breaching and Close-Quarters Combat: Rappelling down casino skyscrapers, flipping upside-down outside skylights, sliding the snake cam under closed doors to tag high-value targets for Jung and Michael, and executing synchronized flashbang or smoke breaches.
- Persistent Elite Creation (P.E.C.) and Terrorist Hunt: Perfected in Vegas 2 alongside Bishop's parallel campaign, the unified progression system allowed players to level up the exact same custom operator across single-player story missions, co-op, and the legendary Terrorist Hunt mode.
- Where to Play Today: While Project Spades remains years away from launch, both original Rainbow Six: Vegas titles remain playable on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S via backward compatibility, as well as on PC through the official Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas Steam store page and seasonal events like the 2026 Ubisoft Store Black Friday sale.
My Field Notes
It took nearly twenty years for Ubisoft Montreal to finally remember what made this franchise special before everything was boiled down to esports round timers, neon operator skins, and reinforced walls in 5v5 arenas. Anyone who spent sleepless nights back in 2006 and 2008 dangling upside-down above the skylights of the Calypso Casino or clearing the smoke-filled gaming floors of Dantes Casino knows why the codename Spades hits a nerve. Sliding the snake cam under a double door, tagging two tangos for suppressed takedowns, and crashing through the glass while slot machines erupted under MP5N fire was the ultimate sweet spot between grounded SWAT tactics and blockbuster tension.
Around our desk, Bastien "Orion" still keeps his original Xbox 360 copies of Logan Keller and Bishop's campaigns within arm's reach just to remind us that no ranked match in Siege has ever matched the pure adrenaline of four-player co-op Terrorist Hunt on Realistic difficulty. If Ubisoft Montreal stays true to the Vegas DNA with a proper sequel, modern environmental destruction, and a full co-op campaign without burying the experience under live-service bloat, returning to the Strip could easily reclaim the tactical shooter crown.
SEO consultant for over 20 years and digital entrepreneur, Charles "Grimtag" is the founder of Pro-Gamer.gg, Retrocharting.com, and Gamescharting.com. A competitive gamer, streamer, and retro game collector, he has worked in the video game industry for over 15 years, notably as a consultant for leading game price comparison platforms. Passionate about real-time performance data and gaming technology, he analyzes competitive esports, gaming hardware benchmarks, and creator workflows on Pro-Gamer.gg with an authentic player perspective.
