How To Play Rainbow Six Siege With Vulkan API On PC


Rainbow Six Siege is now into its sixth season of content, and in the last few months, Ubisoft has launched the tactical shooter onto PS5 and Xbox Series S/X - but PC players still have an extra trick.

That's the Vulkan API, a new tech that lowers the usage of both CPU and GPU. Here's how to enable it.

READ MORE: Rainbow Six Y6S3: Everything We Know About Operation Crystal Guard

What Is The Vulkan API?

The Vulkan API is used instead of DirectX 11, which has been used by Siege since it launched in 2015.

Vulkan renders differently, lowering CPU and GPU usage and boosting frame rates - ideal for a tactical shooter like Siege.

Depending on your setup, you may notice inconsistencies when using Vulkan, but here's how to try it for yourself.

How To Play Rainbow Six Siege With Vulkan API On PC

Vulkan is a startup option when booting the game from your launcher of choice, be that Steam or Ubisoft Connect.

It's important to make sure you've got the latest graphics card drivers installed, but when launching you can opt for either.

On Steam

Open Siege as you normally would, then click the 'Launch Vulkan' option before selecting 'PLAY'.

On Ubisoft Connect

Right-click 'Play', then click Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege - Vulkan.

For more on Rainbow Six, be sure to check out our guide to the game's best team compositions, as well as our Operator Tier list ranking all sixty Attackers and Defenders.

We've also rounded up everything we know about Rainbow Six Extraction, the franchise's new co-op focused entry.

For more articles like this, take a look at our Rainbow Six Siege page.