When Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft) marked its tenth year by introducing Rainbow Six Siege X and a free-to-play model, the brief was bigger than a one-day splash. Solutions Media (CEO & Founder Suhit Amin) reframed the launch from a typical "buy streams, get views" play into a creator tournament engineered for longevity.
Across the UK & Northern Europe, the team mobilized 42 creators into an 8-team format (each with a Siege captain, two lapsed players, and two total newcomers), secured minimum 6 hours of streaming per creator, and wrapped it in competitive stakes and creator co-design. The result: ~135,000 watch hours, 130% over the watch-hour target, and a meaningful tail—~15% of creators kept posting organically after the budgeted end, including one $40,000-rate long-form video posted for free and another creator adding ~60,000 extra watch hours on their own.
This wasn't a media buy. It was an experience design that converted paid participation into voluntary advocacy—and created demand for a global rollout.
The Business Problem
Launch pattern problem
Standard playbooks (100 streamers × 2 hours) produce a day-one spike followed by an immediate drop-off.
Model shift risk
Moving to free-to-play needed new players, returning lapsed players, and sustained interest, not one-and-done hype.
Category clutter
Competitive FPS launches crowd Twitch; novelty gets discounted fast.
Core Objectives
Drive sustained watch-time (not just peak concurrent) across the first weeks.
Re-activate lapsed audiences and onboard new ones with approachable, entertaining entry points.
Prove a repeatable format Ubisoft could scale market-to-market.
Insight
A launch stream is a billboard; a tournament is a league. Competitive structure creates stakes, storylines, and return visits—especially in male-skewed gaming audiences. Add a smart roster mix (pros + lapsed + first-timers), and you get both mastery and discovery: experts drive credibility while newcomers make the game watchable and welcoming again.
Strategic leap: Replace fragmented, piecemeal streams with a creator-led tournament designed with the captains themselves—so the people who know the audience shape the show the audience wants.
Strategy: Competition + Creator Co-Design + Watch-Hour Economics
Format
CJ's Creator Rumble—8 teams; each team led by a Rainbow Six captain, plus 2 lapsed players and 2 newbies to maximize entertainment and accessibility.
Co-design
Ubisoft & Solutions Media held 1:1 calls with all captains to shape rules, rivalries, and talent invites; this surfaced inside jokes, rival match-ups, and creator-friendly pacing.
Time-based economics
Contracted 6 hours minimum per creator; priced against a cost-per-watch-hour model using historical average CCV, adjusted to ~70% when creators switch from their main title to Siege.
Selection by data + chemistry
Shortlisted with Solenome and TwitchMetrics (CCV, recency, trend) and Modash (YouTube depth). Then manually vetted for audience fit, personality cohesion, and known rivalries to fuel narrative hooks.
Incentives
Flat fees for reliability + £10,000 prize pool to sharpen stakes. Clear Discord-based ops for access, assets, and rapid support.
Execution Highlights
42 creators across Twitch/YouTube; UK & Northern Europe focus
6+ hours required per creator, staggered across group stages → finals
Rivalries seeded (two captains with running jokes pitted head-to-head)
Creator joy = better content: More practice than required, ad-hoc scrims streamed
Post-campaign tail: ~15% kept creating content unpaid; one 1.5-hour recap video from a creator who normally charges $40,000; another added ~60,000 incremental watch hours solo
Results
Why It Worked: Four Forces
Competition beats ad placements—audiences show up to see who wins
Pros keep it credible; newbies make it approachable and funny
Involving captains early increased pride and care, translating into extra unpaid content
Pricing and selection tied to CPWH made budgets predictable and optimizable
"A launch stream is a billboard; a tournament is a league."
"We priced against watch hours, not wishful thinking."
"Pros make it credible. Newbies make it watchable."
"Creators enjoyed it so much 15% kept posting for free—that's the KPI that matters."
The Playbook You Can Reuse
ACreator Selection
- •Start wide with Solenome/TwitchMetrics (CCV, schedule consistency, recent peaks) and Modash (YouTube depth)
- •Filter for demographics and title affinity, then hand-pick for chemistry (rivalries, collab history)
- •Build rosters that mix expertise levels to create narrative arcs
BFormat Design
- •Group stage → semi → final; add 3rd-place match to boost inventory and stakes
- •Practice streams required (pros mentor newbies); audiences love visible improvement
- •Discord hub for comms, assets, rulings, and creator support
CIncentives & Pricing
- •Contract minimum hours; price on (adj. CCV × hours) × CPWH
- •Flat fee + prize pool at minimum; consider hybrid (scaled prize tiers across Top 4) to widen competitive tension
DMeasurement
- •Primary: Watch hours by phase, retention between phases, VOD pickup
- •Secondary: Clip velocity (fan UGC), sentiment on newcomers' learning arc, captain-led collab rates
- •Tertiary: Return streams about the title within 30 days (unpaid tail), creator opt-in for next season