Ubisoft revealed its first transgender operator, Osa Monday on the Rainbow Six Siege Year 6 Season 3 live stream. The new season, dubbed Crystal Guard, comes with the new operator, features, balance changes and bug fixes.
The new Rainbow Six Siege character is an attacker that uses her transparent and bulletproof Talon-8 Shield to provide cover for herself by either carrying it around corners or deploying it on floors or window frames.
Osa’s gender identity was not referenced directly on the live stream but has been confirmed through reports, a line in her in-game biography and comments from those who consulted on the creation of the first trans character in the game.
The line in her biography references her time at the University of Zagreb. “She found herself isolated due to her unorthodox approach and others’ attitudes towards her transition, so she focused on her work.”
Rainbow Six Siege writers consulted with trans members of their community on Osa
After the new operator’s announcement, those consulted in the creation of the Croatian Attacker offered some insight.
“Well it’s out now! Since Feb, Ubi worked with me and other wonderful trans folk to develop Osa and make sure her story, gear and gadgets reflected well. They went above and beyond to make her a good rep!” said Em “CaptainFluke” Donaldson, a trans Rainbow Six Siege caster on Twitter.
Well it's out now! Since Feb Ubi worked with me and some other wonderful trans folk to develop Osa and make sure her story, gear and gadgets reflected well. They went above and beyond to make her a good rep!
Big S/O to @Akviko, @ScriptSlasher & the others from the team <3 https://t.co/xjAeEUfECm
— Emi | Fluke (@CaptainFluke) August 16, 2021
In a statement to GameSpot, R6 writer Simon Ducharme said the decision to include a trans character in the game was made early on this year and that they consulted trans people to make sure Osa was an authentic representation of the gender identity.
“She was written by a queer person and she is voiced by a trans woman – and while her identity is certainly influenced by her gender, who she is in the Siege universe is centered on her talents, her influence on Nighthaven and her close friendship to Kali,” Ducharme told GameSpot.
Osa will hit the Rainbow Six Siege test servers on Aug. 17.
The inclusivity of the character comes in sharp contrast to recent game development studio revelations around “frat boy culture” at top companies around the industry, including Ubisoft.
