At one time, Splinter Cell was arguably Ubisoft’s premier brand, with new entries coming out every year or two. That’s no longer the case, as it’s coming up on six years since the release of Splinter Cell: Blacklist in 2013. Will Splinter Cell ever return? What, exactly, is the holdup? Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot explained the situation during an IGN Unfiltered interview, saying they didn’t want to revive the franchise unless they could do something unique with it…
“When you create a [new entry in a series] you have to make sure you will come with something that will be different enough from what you did before. Last time we did a Splinter Cell, we had lots of pressure from all the fans saying, ‘Don’t change it, don’t do this, don’t do that.’ So, some of the teams were more anxious to work on the brand.
Now there are some things and some people that are now looking at the brand; taking care of the brand. At one point you will see something, but I can’t say more than that. Also, because of Assassin’s Creed and all the other brands taking off, people wanted to work on those brands more. So, we have to follow what they like to do.”
The “we can’t bring back Splinter Cells unless we can do something new with it” reasoning feels a bit hollow, given Ubisoft’s penchant for pumping out similar Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry games, although devs being wary of the franchise due to pressure from fans certainly rings true. Expectations are going to be sky-high whenever Splinter Cell returns. And when will Splinter Cell return? There have been persistent rumors Ubisoft is working on a new entry for the past couple years, and Sam Fisher recently showed up for a cameo in Ghost Recon Wildlands. So, as always, keep your eyes open at this year’s E3.
What do you think? Will we see a new Splinter Cell announced any time soon? What would you want from a new entry in the franchise?
