Solid Snake has officially infiltrated Rainbow Six Siege, and Operation Silent Hunt is one of the most exciting seasons the game has seen in years. The fortieth expansion for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege launched on March 3, 2026, bringing the legendary Metal Gear protagonist into the Siege roster as a fully playable Attacker, alongside sweeping balance changes, modernized maps, and a brand-new 1v1 Arcade mode.
Soliton Radar MKIII in action
Who Is Solid Snake in Siege?
Solid Snake joins Rainbow Six Siege as a 3-speed, 1-health Attacker Operator, voiced once again by original actor David Hayter. His stat profile makes him one of the fastest Operators in the game, trading durability for mobility. He was revealed at the Six Invitational on February 15, 2026, and hit the live servers two weeks later.
Solid Snake's Full Loadout
The Tacit .45 is a brand-new secondary weapon introduced exclusively with Snake. For primaries, the F2 assault rifle now supports vertical, angled, and horizontal grip attachments as part of this season's balance pass, giving Snake more customization than the F2 previously allowed.
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The F2's new grip attachment options make it more versatile than ever. Pair it with an angled grip for faster ADS speed when pushing aggressively.
What Does Solid Snake's Soliton Radar Do?
Snake's primary gadget is the Soliton Radar Mk. III, a handheld device that displays a minimap of his immediate surroundings and marks any enemies present on the same floor. The radar uses a three-light threat indicator system:
- Green means the area is clear
- Yellow means default cameras are being accessed by enemies
- Red means one or more enemies have been detected nearby
When you activate precision mode, the radar highlights detected enemies with position icons and vision cones, giving your team real-time intel. There is a critical trade-off here: marked enemies are notified that they have been spotted, so Snake's radar is a two-way street. Use it strategically rather than constantly.
The device operates on limited charges with a cooldown timer, so you cannot spam it throughout a round. Timing your radar activations around pushes and flanks is what separates good Snake players from great ones.
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Enemies know when Snake's Soliton Radar has detected them. Activating the radar carelessly telegraphs your push timing and can give defenders a significant positional advantage.
OSP Pouch scavenging system
How Does Snake's On-Site Procurement Work?
On-Site Procurement (OSP) is Snake's second unique ability. When an Operator is downed, Snake can scavenge their utility pouch and add it to his own inventory. What makes this especially powerful is that Snake can carry up to five secondary gadgets simultaneously, far more than any other Operator.
This means Snake can stockpile a mix of tools mid-match depending on what he finds. Need a Breach Charge after burning yours? Find a downed teammate. Want an extra Stun Grenade before a final push? Scavenge one. The ability rewards players who stay active and position near engagements rather than hanging back.
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Snake starts with access to five different gadget types (Frag Grenade, Stun Grenade, Impact EMP Grenade, Smoke Grenade, Breach Charge), and his OSP ability lets him supplement those further by collecting pouches from fallen Operators throughout the match.
What Changed in the Y11S1 Balance Pass?
Operation Silent Hunt includes a significant Operator balance pass that reshapes several picks across both sides.
Skopos Gets a Major Rework
Skopos receives the most substantial changes this season. Her v10 Pantheon Shells now move faster and hit harder, and several timers have been tightened considerably:
- Speed rating increased to 3 (previously 2)
- Health rating reduced to 1 (previously 2)
- Active Shell idle time reduced to 1.3 seconds (previously 1.5)
- Idle Shell activation time reduced to 1.3 seconds (previously 1.5)
- Swap cooldown cut to 0.5 seconds (previously 3 seconds)
The swap cooldown reduction from 3 seconds to 0.5 seconds is the headline change. Skopos can now cycle between shells at a pace that makes her far more reactive in fast-paced engagements.
Other Notable Operator Changes
The Observation Blocker also received a quality-of-life improvement: deploy time dropped from 2.5 seconds to 1 second, making it much more practical to place under pressure.
Skopos swap cooldown reduced
What Maps Are in the Y11S1 Ranked Rotation?
The Ranked map pool rotates at the start of Operation Silent Hunt, with the following changes:
Removed from Ranked:
- Kanal
- Skyscraper
- Theme Park
- Outback
Added to Ranked:
- Emerald Plains
Partway through the season, the pool shifts again. Coastline is replaced by Skyscraper, Villa by Theme Park, Oregon by Stadium Bravo, and Emerald Plains by Favela. All three maps that received modernization updates this season (Coastline, Villa, and Oregon) feature updated graphics, improved lighting, and new destructible elements.
What New Modes and Features Are in Operation Silent Hunt?
1v1 Arcade
A public 1v1 Arcade mode has been added to the playlist with full online matchmaking. It uses the same ruleset as Bomb mode and pits you against a single opponent. The mode runs from April 16 to April 30, 2026.
Dual Front Sunset
The 6v6 Dual Front mode is being retired this season. Before it goes, a Final Assignment becomes available with exclusive rewards to earn. Ubisoft has stated the focus is shifting back toward the core Siege 5v5 and Ranked experiences.
Metal Gear-Themed Event
A limited-time event pairs Solid Snake with Siege's own stealth Operator, Zero (Sam Fisher), on a modified version of the Nighthaven Labs map filled with Metal Gear references. A dedicated Collection accompanies the event, featuring skins inspired by iconic Metal Gear characters including Gray Fox and Meryl.
Snake's operator loadout screen
Match Replay Improvements
The Match Replay system also received attention this season:
- Freecam movement with mouse and keyboard is smoother
- A new move-slow function can be remapped to any input
- New camera movement speed and zoom behavior options
- Redesigned Replay HUD
Anti-Toxicity and Reporting Updates
Ubisoft expanded the in-game reporting system significantly. Toxicity reports now offer 16 categories, up from just 4, and the text chat detection system has been updated with greater context awareness. On the Ranked side, if a player abandons a match that results in cancellation, that player and their squadmates receive both an abandon penalty and a queue penalty.
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If your squad causes a Ranked match cancellation through disconnects, everyone in your squad takes the abandon penalty. Players outside your squad who happened to be in the same match are not penalized.
Key Bug Fixes in Y11S1
Several Solid Snake-specific bugs were addressed at launch, including fixes for the Soliton Radar failing to show enemy icons on first precision mode activation, the OSP Pouch not disappearing in Clear House Training Mode, and incorrect alliance colors on dropped pouches. The radar's ability to detect through floors in specific map locations on Emerald Plains and Bank was also corrected.