Here's when Rainbow Six Extraction unlocks in your timezone

Rainbow Six Extraction operators hold guns at the ready in a dark containment zone.
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

The Rainbow Six Extraction unlock times are nearly upon us, unleashing the R6 operators into containment zones across the United States. We've gone hands on with Extraction and given it a 73% in our Rainbow Six Extraction review, where Morgan calls it "a fun and unremarkable co-op shooter with some very good ooze." If you've already committed to playing Extraction, here's what you need to know about when pre-loading and unlock times are happening this week.

Rainbow Six Extraction pre-loading for PC players has already begun on the Ubisoft Connect app and the Epic Games Store, so you can get that 85GB download started right now if you want. Extraction will also be available on January 20th on PC Game Pass, but isn't available for pre-load.

Here's how the Rainbow Six Extraction unlock times break down by time zone:

Rainbow Six Extraction unlock times

Rainbow Six Extraction is not having a simultaneous global launch.

As Ubisoft announces in its tweet below, the Rainbow Six Extraction release time is January 20 at 12am locally in the Americas, with midnight launches in other regions consolidated to the CET and AEDT timezones. Here's how the unlock times break down in different cities:

  • New York: January 20, 12am ET
  • Los Angeles: January 20, 12am PT
  • London: January 19, 11pm GMT
  • Melbourne: January 20, 12am AEDT

Some good news if you're not on a top-of-the-line PC: The Rainbow Six Extraction system requirements aren't at all demanding. Your older GPU and modest RAM machines should be able to handle what Extraction is dishing out.

Extraction is also offering a buddy pass system, where each copy of the game comes with two game tokens that give your friend access to the game for 14 days. Of note is that Ubisoft just announced that the buddy pass system won't be available immediately at launch "to ensure a smooth rollout for all players." Ubisoft says that removing barriers to playing with friends is important and that it is "dedicated to launching your two friend invites very soon," though it doesn't specify just how shortly after launch that will take place.

TOPICS
Lauren Morton
Associate Editor

Lauren has been writing for PC Gamer since she went hunting for the cryptid Dark Souls fashion police in 2017. She accepted her role as Associate Editor in 2021, now serving as self-appointed chief cozy games and farmlife sim enjoyer. Her career originally began in game development and she remains fascinated by how games tick in the modding and speedrunning scenes. She likes long fantasy books, longer RPGs, can't stop playing co-op survival crafting games, and has spent a number of hours she refuses to count building houses in The Sims games for over 20 years.

Read more
Assassin's Creed Shadows key art.
Ubisoft reveals Assassin's Creed Shadows preload and unlock times
Assassin's Creed Shadows knowledge rank - A close-up shot of Naoe with a determined facial expression.
Assassin's Creed Shadows unlock times for each region
Hero shooter Fragpunk
FragPunk launch times and release date
Avowed companions - Kai
Avowed launch times, release date, and advance access period
Godwin, Hans, and Henry stand side by side. Godwin is saying something to them while hunched over slightly.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 launch times and release date
monster hunter wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds release times and preloading
Latest in Action
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The First Berserker: Khazan review - Blade Phantom
How to claim The First Berserker: Khazan pre-order bonus and deluxe edition DLC
gta 6 trailer
Publishers 'don't want to be anywhere near' Grand Theft Auto 6 when it launches: 'It's proving to be very stressful'
An image of a Helldiver from Helldivers 2 shooting at a red dragon from Dungeons & Dragons.
'Ok, so dragon builds are a thing now': galaxy-brained Helldivers 2 player incinerates a bile titan with a hover pack and a flamethrower
Assassin's Creed Shadows promo image
Ubisoft scores a legendary ratio against Elon Musk on his own platform—which hopefully marks a final end to all the Assassin's Creed Shadows' culture war nonsense
Assassin's Creed Shadows immersive mode - Naoe holding a tanto in her hand as two guards fall to the ground behind her.
Assassin's Creed Shadows' first hotfix addresses stability issues and a photo mode crash
Latest in News
An Enshrouded player in a recreation of Erebor from The Lord of the Rings
Kings under the Mountain! 33 Enshrouded players spent 10,000 hours to recreate this iconic location from The Lord of the Rings
A mech awakens.
Mecha Break developer is considering unlocking all mechs following open beta feedback
Lara Croft Unified Art
Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics lays off 17 employees 'to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success'
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened