Splinter Cell was an extremely popular franchise of games back in the 2000s and into the early 2010s. The stealth shooters were revolutionary at the time and were also some of the first games to make co-op a main selling point. However, the series came to a halt in 2013 after Splinter Cell: Blacklist. There have been plenty of rumors since then of sequels, reboots, and remakes, but as time went on, it started to feel like Splinter Cell was a series that would remain dormant.
That was until, to the surprise of many, Ubisoft announced in a blog post that Splinter Cell is indeed coming back. The first game in the series is going to receive a remake with the intention of not only bringing the series back, but also establishing its future. The game will be headed by the development team at Ubisoft Toronto and use their proprietary “Snowdrop” engine.
“To me, a remake takes what you’d do in a remaster and goes a little bit further with it,” producer Matt West said. “The original Splinter Cell has a lot that was amazing and revolutionary at the time it came out, 19 years ago. The gaming public now has an even more refined palate. So, I think it kind of has to be a remake as opposed to a remaster. Although we’re still in the very earliest stages of development, what we’re trying to do is make sure the spirit of the early games remains intact, in all of the ways that gave early Splinter Cell its identity.”
We’re fascinated to see what a Splinter Cell game looks like with modern video game sensibilities in mind. A lot of the features that made the Splinter Cell games unique back in the day are a regular part of gaming these days, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we don’t have a need for a new game. Splinter Cell fulfills a satisfying niche in the stealth shooter genre and a remake will give it an opportunity to explore more ways to make the game feel new and fresh. Not to mention, it will help establish the engine for future games.