Back in June, Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Extraction got delayed to early next year. With the development team citing more time needed to create the Rainbow Six take on the whole co-op shooter thing. Today comes word that the early next year release is going to be very early with Rainbow Six Extraction out on January 20, 2022.

We went hands-on with a preview build back in June and walked away impressed with what we saw so no doubt that extra couple of months of polish has been put to good use. As for the game itself the blend of Operator style action from Rainbow Six Siege, mixed with the Left 4 Dead co-op vibes of fighting hordes of aliens (no zombies here), is fairly straightforward. Though as per the gameplay breakdown below, there's a lot that sets Extraction apart from other co-op shooters.

To confront and eventually contain a growing alien threat known as Archæans, your squad can choose from a roster of 18 Rainbow Six Operators, each with their own set of gadgets, weapons, and abilities. Try different combinations of Operators to open new strategies to approach the Archæan threat in each of Extraction’s 12 maps. Set across four regions in the United States, these maps feature procedurally generated challenges, a diverse set of enemies, and infestations with increasing difficulty the further you go in the map, to keep your REACT squad on its toes and test your teamwork.

Of course, it’s not just about adjusting to the world and the Archæan presence – you’ll also need to make some tough decisions. After completing the mission within each containment sub-zone, you’ll have the option to extract your squad and net the rewards you’ve earned so far, or venture deeper into containment and risk what you’ve earned to confront tougher enemies and earn greater rewards. That gamble could mean temporarily losing one of your Operators, caught Missing in Action (MIA) within the containment zone. You’ll have to squad up and launch a rescue mission to recover your MIA Operator. What will your squad risk to complete its mission?

Rainbow Six Extraction is out January 20 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC.