Recent years have seen major publishers return to beloved video game franchises that were left dormant for many years such as Activision’sCrash BandicootandSpyro the Dragonseries, and Nintendo’sMetroidseries. These series' returned after many requests from dedicated fans for years, and much has been the case for Ubisoft’sSplinter Cellfranchise. After years of begging and campaining for a new game in the franchise, it appears Ubisoft might be preparing to return toTom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, as a new game has reportedly been greenlit.
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Celldebuted on the original Xbox console in 2002 and followed NSA Black Ops agent Sam Fisher (voiced by Michael Ironside) as players guided him through a series of levels built around stealth, inspired by theMetal Gear SolidandThiefseries'. The series was a major success for Ubisoft, receiving ports to PlayStation 2, PC, and GameCube, and a sequel in 2004 titledTom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. The game would later go on to inspire a series, with multiple titles releasing until 2013’sTom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist, which failed to meet sales expectations for Ubisoft,causing the publisher to put theSplinter Cellfranchise on hold.
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Since placing the series on indefinite hiatus, fans have criticized Ubisoft for continuing to use series protagonist Sam Fisher in mobile spin-offs such asTom Clancy’s Elite Squadand guest appearances in games such asTom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Seige. In 2020, Ubisoft even announced thataSplinter Cellanimated series is in production at Neflix, however the publisher was still hesitant to announce any sort of new game or sequel. Now, over eight years after the release ofSplinter Cell: Blacklist, notableCall of DutyandBattlefieldleaker Tom Henderson has reported via Video Games Chronicle that Ubisoft has greenlit a newSplinter Cellgame.
Henderson claims in his report that his development sources have claimed that the nextSplinter Cellgame has been greenlit from Ubisoft, however the game is not in development at the studio’s central Montreal studio. Instead, it appears that Ubisoft has either handed the game to another of its many worldwide development teams (such as Ubisoft Toronto, which developedBlacklist, or an external development team. Henderson also claims that the game has been greenlit in response to the publisher attempting to rebuilt its image afterthe toxic workplace and discrimination allegationsthat begun to spread in 2020.
While the game has yet to enter full production, as it has only now just been greenlit by the higher-ups, the VGC report claims that the nextTom Clancy’s Splinter Cellgame could be announced as early as next year,likely at Ubisoft’s E3 2022 press conference. This is still undecided though.
