Hope was starting to mount for fans as Ubisoft Forward approached on Saturday, alongside a couple exciting announcements for a certain subsect of Tom Clancy fans. Of all the long dormant Ubisoft franchises that hardcore fans want to make a comeback,Splinter Cellis generally one of the top picks. Unlike other long dormant franchises likeBeyond Good & Evil, which has a confirmed sequel on the way,Splinter Cellgames have been dormant since 2013’sSplinter Cell: Blacklist. Of course, fans have vocalized their frustrations as much as possible regarding the distinct lack of properSplinter Cellentries, or even news about the series.
E3 is generally when conversations around a new entry come to a fever pitch, and understandably so. While last year was an exception, this year’s E3 2021 brought back some of the hype and fan desire for anotherSplinter Cellgame. Both innately as the time of year for video game announcements, as well as Ubisoft making several tangentialSplinter Cellannouncements, many expected to see at least a tease of somethingSplinter Cellrelated at Ubisoft Forward. Despite this, the event came and went withoutSplinter Cell, despite the announcement of an animated series, rumors of a multiplayer spin-off, among all the existing history ofSplinter Cellcameos.
An Animated Series, Multiplayer Spin-Off, No Mainline Splinter Cell
The most recent prompting ofSplinter Cellrequests comes from an atypical announcement compared to previous years: Revealed atNetflix’s Geeked Week, an animatedSplinter Cellseriesis in the works exclusively for the streaming platform. The only other confirmed detail about the series thus far isJohn Wickwriter Derek Kolstad is working on the project as well. Beyond that, not much is known other than a single confirmed character render of what appears to be a much older Sam Fisher. That being said, any excitement for the show was quickly interrupted by confused and frustrated fans, wondering where the video game franchise has gone.
Beyond the animated series, an E3 leak further emboldenedSplinter Cellfans when they learned about another potentialTom Clancygame with a Sam Fisher/Splinter Cellcameo potentially on the way.Reportedly called “BattleCat,” Ubisoft is planning a new PvP multiplayer, first-person shooter for console and PC. Mashing together severalTom Clancy’s franchises likeGhost Recon,The Division, and of courseSplinter Cell, each franchise has unique character classes with specific abilities and equipment. Apparently there’s two game modes: anOverwatch-like mode called “Escort,” and some kind of Kill Confirmed-style mode called “Ringleader.”
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Seven Years Have Passed Since Splinter Cell: Blacklist Released
This is without even mentioning the many other cameos and spin-offs forSplinter Cellthat have come in the years sinceBlacklist’s release. There’s the announcedSplinter CellVR spin-off, the Sam Fisher cameos in bothGhost Recon WildlandsandGhost Recon Breakpoint, his inclusion as an operator inRainbow Six Siege, among other smaller cameos. Initially, these cameos and spin-offs led to jokes about more Fisher cameos than actual games, but over time, this joke became a very recent reality. The last seven years have been devoid of a properSplinter Cellsequel, and 2021 won’t be changing that. Instead, Ubisoft is unintentionally continuing the meme.
To be fair, it’s got to be particularly difficult to imagine how aSplinter Cellsequel could succeed with expectations so inherently high.Games likeStarfieldgarner insurmountable hypesimply by existing, in tandem with the pedigree of the development studio behind the project. For aSplinter Cellsequel/new entry, as an iconic series beloved by many fans, the expectations are arguably even higher. Some fans may want a more traditional stealth experience likeChaos Theory, some fans may prefer the hybrid stealth-action ofBlacklist. Some may just straight up want moreSplinter Cellgames, regardless of how they’re designed or how they play.
Unfortunately, it looks like fans are going to have to wait until next year to see if there’sanotherSplinter Cellgame in store. There have been rumors previously, with actors mentioning that they’re expecting a newSplinter Cellentry, while other developers have teasedSplinter Cellas a joke previously. The reality is that, even if aSplinter Cellgame is in development, clearly its very early in development. If the game’s not even ready for a tease just yet, or if it’s even started development at all, then it’s going to be a long time before the next mainlineSplinter Cellgame sees release.
ASplinter Cellgame is not confirmed to be in development.
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