Charity partnerships are nothing new for Ubisoft. Last year, the company also partnered with a charity… SpecialEffect! That’s right, this partnership is a continuation of the one signed in April 2020.
At the time, both Ubisoft Reflections and Ubisoft Leamington partnered with the charity, after already working informally with SpecialEffect for several years. Now, once again the publishing giant is formally partnering with the UK charity.
What does SpecialEffect do?
They are raising awareness for gamers with physical disabilities and the challenges they face. In particular, they are somewhat well-known for their work in creating accessible peripherals.
In other words, controllers and the like specially adapted to allow the less-able-bodied to play video games just like everyone else – something that is often difficult to impossible with regular controllers. They also work with unique solutions for individuals that need things like voice or eye controls, as well as modifications like additional switches and more.
The collaboration here will last for one year and span several charity events and other activities throughout 2021 and the beginning of 2022. Most notably, Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege UK esports league is also part of the partnership. The UKIN as it’s called will feature SpecialEffect at all of their events throughout the year.
Several Seasons & More
The UKIN’s Spring Season already launched in January and is about to end – this weekend, actually. The last section of the Spring Season are the finals – the top four teams will be participating. So far, these teams include Natus Vincere and Cowana gaming – they and others will be dueling for the £25k prize pool.
That’s far from the end though – once the Spring Season has concluded on the 14th of March, the UKIN Second Division will launch, from April to May. In July and September, fans have the Summer Season to look forward to, followed by the season finale in October/November.
This includes the European Challenger League 2021, and of course the conclusion of the UKIN Second Division. Throughout, doing well at, for example, the Spring and Summer Season will qualify teams for later events – for example, the top teams of the Spring Season move directly to the Summer Season, and teams from there can qualify either for the ECL21 or the final stage of the Second Division.
You can check out the possible progression paths here:
The UKIN will, overall, give local and semi-pro teams a chance to shine on a national stage they may not otherwise have access to – all to foster new talent in the R6 esports. For many competitors, this will be their first experience in an organized competitive setting – their first attempt to play in an esports tournament, in other words. It’s also a prime opportunity for new talent to be scouted by existing teams, so this could well lead to some new top-tier players entering the world of R6 Siege.
And the best thing – it’s all happening to the benefit of a fantastic charity as well, as SpecialEffect will be part of every event on the Ubisoft R6 UKIN schedule this year.
