Rainbow Six Siege could get an operator from Splinter Cell, according to data miner

Rainbow Six Siege might enlist the help of a Splinter Cell operator for its next season. Data-mined information hints that the codename of the Y5S3 refers to Echelon, the organization that founded the Splinter Cell program.

The game files list the upcoming operator as “Operator.Y5S3.Scout – ECH (Echelon / Third Echelon),” according to a data miner. The “Echelon/Third Echelon” would reference the fictional institution behind Splinter Cell. Windows Central first spotted the leak.

The community pointed out that the season five roadmap displays a Nighthaven logo alongside the season three character. But Siege‘s creative direction has changed since then, according to product director Roy del Valle, and a Nighthaven operator for season three isn’t exactly guaranteed.

“[The Nighthaven logo] shouldn’t be there,” del Valle said in an interview with Windows Central.

Ubisoft’s plans may go beyond Kali’s organization. “We tweaked some things on the narrative that you’ll discover, and you’ll be very happy with, that does not necessarily strictly link to Nighthaven,” del Valle said.

This gives Ubisoft some leeway for placing an Echelon operator in Siege. The company has a long tradition of crossovers, but arguably none would be as game-changing as having a Splinter Cell character in Siege.

Ghost Recon: Wildlands is home to two crossovers with Ubisoft franchises. Caveira and Twitch feature in a two-part story mission called Operation Archangel. Wildlands also drafts the help of Sam Fisher in the stealth-focused Operation Silent Spade.

Players should take the information with a grain of salt, however. Data-mined information may not be entirely accurate and is liable to change. Although there could be room for an Echelon operator in Siege, it’s unclear if Ubisoft will actually add the character to the roster.