Splinter Cell has long been one of Ubisoft’s most iconic and popular franchises, which makes it all the more strange that the series has been dormant for the entirety of this current console generation. In a new conversation, Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot explained more of the reasoning as to why Sam Fisher has been away for so long and when he might be coming back.
Speaking to IGN, Guillemot said that when work was done on the last entry in the series, 2013’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist, there was a lot of pressure from fans. “When you create a game, you have to make sure you will come with something that will be different enough from what you did before,” he said. “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.”
However, it seems that things have since changed over the past few years and there is now a team at Ubisoft dedicated to operating with the Splinter Cell license. “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,” he seemed to tease.
Guillemot also added that the rise of some of Ubisoft’s other properties over the past few years led to the teams at the company wanting to work on those hotter properties. “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.”
While Splinter Cell has been away for quite a bit, it is seeming to be about the right time for the franchise to return. Just last year, actor Michael Ironside returned as the voice of Sam Fisher in Ghost Recon Wildlands’ Splinter Cell add-on. Plus, a leak last year from Walmart Canada seemed to indicate that a new entry in the series was on its way. Every other game from this Walmart leak has since been announced formally.
If we’re lucky, Ubisoft’s E3 showing this June will finally bring about the return of Splinter Cell. And if it doesn’t, well, then at least we’re still getting Beyond Good & Evil 2.
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