In China, no matter what,rainbow six siege(hereafter, R6S) seems to be a gamer trying to stream live. A tweet by Twitter user Lee Old Teacher is attracting attention. Let’s take a look at what kind of live streaming is being done, or why it should be done.
The battle between Chinese R6S players and live streaming platforms is well known. In principle, R6S is prohibited from being streamed live in China, so game streamers who really want to be streamed have to come up with a variety of options.
This video is a live distribution screen of Mr. U You, a Chinese game distributor who works on the distribution platform bilibili. In the video, you can see a screen composed of white letters on a black background. It is almost impossible to decipher what kind of game it is on the distribution screen that is blurred to the limit. The audio has also been processed, and only viewers with excellent observation skills will be able to tell that it is “R6S”.
Why on earth is it impossible to comment on the “R6S” game without taking these measures? The reason for this is said to be the Chinese version system. China has strict guidelines for game sales, and you can’t sell it unless you pass the content review by the authorities and get the “version number” (detailed article).
Some media in 2018reportAccording to the report, Tencent has acquired the right to operate R6S in China and has applied for a review for its domestic release. However, after the news of Tencent’s acquisition of the operating rights, an event occurred in which the live distribution of “R6S” was banned on each platform in China.chinese mediareportAccording to the company, the reason for the ban was that “R6S” was still deemed inappropriate in China. It seems that each operation is cooperating with the Chinese government and actively proceeding with the examination of the corresponding title.
In other words, Tencent acquired the operating rights for R6S and applied for a version number to the Chinese government to officially launch it in China. However, it takes time to review the version number, and each management is probably banning the distribution of the same work in the form of cooperating with the Chinese government as a game in the middle of reviewing. Titles that are under review cannot be live-streamed without permission.
“R6S” has not been announced to have passed the examination at the time of writing this article since the examination started in 2018. In other words, R6S players are still unable to freely live stream on Chinese platforms. In addition, works that have not been judged are in the so-called “gray zone” and can be freely distributed live. It can be said that Tencent has acquired the right to operate in China and has applied for a version number, which has led to a ban on video distribution.
With the R6S game unable to be freely distributed because it did not pass the screening, the distributors pursued “how to avoid censorship”. They tried every possible means to distribute the game of “R6S”. First, while camouflaging the game screen where live distribution is permitted, the “R6S” screen is copied in a small size.For example, in Mr. U’s live distribution, Night City of “Cyberpunk 2077”large projectionWe are trying to distribute “R6S” so that it can be placed on the monitor installed as an object in the game.
Streamer Inklaw, who is also a regular of the “R6S Streaming Chicken Race”, put the “R6S” game screen on the display part where the “Arknights” character U-Official is projected in the lower left.is delivering. I don’t really know what to deliver anymore. If you stare at the top center of the screen, you can see a screen that looks like “R6S”.
When disguising “R6S” with other games, it seems that the point is to choose a game that is idle and does not require much operation. Alternatively, by issuing telops such as “I’m away” and “I’m listening to BGM” in advance, I explain that there is no movement on the (disguised) game screen. This is to keep the observers from getting suspicious.
In addition, while pretending to watch the video, I secretly posted the game screen, and as in the video above, I am trying to live stream “R6S” using all kinds of hands, such as blurring the game screen to the limit. . You can see the tearful efforts of the game distributors to escape the surveillance net.
It seems that there are groups that are attacking the issue of how to live stream “R6S” secretly without being banned from a different vector. In the community “Rainbow 6 Siege Stream Lab (R6SLAB)” that explores the possibility of “R6S” distribution, AI that automatically detects prohibited works by blurring the game screen like white noise with binarization processing. Techniques to evade the eye are being researched.The progress of the experimentArchivingThe contents of the research can be confirmed. The know-how cultivated in disguised distribution is also utilized, such as a large (fake) “No input signal” displayed on the distribution screen. By the way, no matter how much I stared at the screen, I could only see white noise.
However, perhaps they got tired of avoiding the eyes of surveillance, and on the contrary, some people appeared to challenge “how to misidentify it as “R6S” and get a distribution ban.” One of the above-mentioned “chicken race” regulars, Mr. Yu You should have distributed “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II”, which is allowed to be distributed live in China. This live stream has been suspended because it is being streamed.”Delivery screenAs you can see by looking at it, he deliberately used an “R6S” style UI overlay to distribute it. Putting aside the meaning of this act, it must have looked like a “R6S” game screen to the observer’s eyes.
Their bloody efforts are enough to make viewers joke, “I don’t know what they’re doing, so it’s probably ‘R6S’.” That should be it, there are many videos where it is difficult to find out where the game screen of “R6S” is displayed. No wonder jokes like this come about. The battle between game distributors who love “R6S” will continue until the day the results of the review by the authorities are announced.
“Rainbow Six Siege” is available in Japan for PC/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Xbox Series X|S. Of course, live distribution is also free.
