Rainbow Six Extraction release date and buddy pass explained

If you want to know the Rainbow Six Extraction release date, we've got you covered below. Despite many wanting to know the answer to the question "can you play Rainbow Six Extraction early", the answer to that at time of writing seems to be a resounding "no", so it's important to know when it'll be available so everybody can set their watches accordingly. We'll also explain the buddy pass that'll allow people to play it for free, and the limitations of this system. Read on just below to find out the Rainbow Six Extraction release date.

Rainbow Six Extraction release date and early play

Rainbow 6 Extraction operators resupplying and healing in airlock press image — (Image credit: Ubisoft)

Rainbow Six Extraction will release on January 20, 2022 in all countries on all platforms, and as far as we know there's no publicly available way to play it early before then. There's no demo for the game at time of writing, but it's possible we'll see one added after the game releases. However, we do know that there'll be one way to play it…

Buddy pass explained and how to play Rainbow Six Extraction for free

Rainbow Six Extraction includes something called a buddy pass, which allows the game to be played for free! But with a catch. Anybody who owns Extraction will be able to invite two other people to try it out with the buddy pass, forming a whole squad between them. Those two players will have the game for free, but only for two weeks following the invitation - at that point Extraction locks up and the game has to be purchased with real money.

This effectively gives players the chance to try out a fairly unique game for a while without committing to a purchase, and may be considered Extraction's equivalent of a demo. It's pretty good considering that two weeks is a long time to try out a product, and players will definitely know one way or another whether they want to commit to a longer purchase. Despite the prevalence of FPS war-themed shooters and zombie games, Extraction is a fairly unique title and many people will want to know their feelings on it before spending money.

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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.