As early as 2018, there’s been grumblings from Ubisoft and rumors/leakers about a certain stealth series making a grand return. 2013 was the last time a mainlineSplinter Cellgame was released, generating a seven-year-old rift in Ubisoft’s lineup. WhileSplinter Cell: Blacklistwas the last time Sam Fisher had his own respective storyline, Fisher has still managed to show up in several of Ubisoft’s adjacent Tom Clancy franchises. However, it’s very possible this was done on purpose, in service to gauging theSplinter Cellaudience.
Recently, during the latest Ubisoft Forward presentation, thePrince of Persia: Sands of Time Remakewas announced. Similar toSplinter Cell, thePrince of Persiaseries has lie dormant for a while, but the difference between them is thatPrince of Persiahad a cohesive ending. GrantedSplinter Cellwas never really meant to have a cohesive arc, butDouble AgentandConvictionseemed to be leading to an ending for Sam Fisher’s story. Now, instead of installing a new protagonist forSplinter Cell, it’d make more sense for the series to return with a reboot/remake.
Always a Cameo, Never a Splinter Cell Game
Sam Fisher post-Convictionhas been farmed out by Ubisoft throughout the major Tom Clancy properties. While that may sound harsh, this has been a point of contention for fans in the several years sinceSplinter Cell: Blacklist. As the wait for a new mainlineSplinter Cellgame began, slowly but surely, Sam Fisher started popping up in other video games besidesSplinter Cell. Generally this would be a tactic to drum up hype for a protagonist getting their own game soon,like theFire Emblemcharacter inSmash. However, Sam Fisher has had a cameo in almost four different Ubisoft franchises without his own respective game.
Since 2013, the originalSplinter Cellprotagonist has shown up in several Tom Clancy games:Ghost Recon: Wildlands,Ghost Recon: Breakpoint,Rainbow Six Siege, and the controversialElite Squad.Sam Fisher even has a cameo inFar Cry New Dawn, which in and of itself is a spin-off from a mainFar Crygame. Although, each cameo has either featured the iconic trifocal night-vision goggles or an older Sam Fisher himself. There could be a reason as to why every cameo has featured a much older Sam Fisher instead of just the character.
Prince of Persia’s Remake Explains Splinter Cell’s Silence
Ubisoft is definitely working on a newSplinter Celltitle, but it could potentially be a remake. That much iscertainly hinted at by aPrince of Persia: Sands of Timeremake, a similarly dormant franchise.Prince of Persiaeven had a cohesive ending to its series, withPrince of Persia: The Two Thronesending the trilogy way back in 2005.Splinter Cellseemed like it was on that trajectory withSplinter Cell: Conviction, but thenBlacklistcame out and completely ignored the events of the last game. Then, asSplinter Cellseemed like it was headed for a completely new direction, the franchise went dormant for several years without a peep.
That’s part of the reasonwhy a remake and/or reboot forSplinter Cellmakes a lot of sense now. The franchise has been dormant for about as long asPrince of Persiahad been before the remake was announced. Knowing that Ubisoft is potentially very interested in remakes, remaking the first or several of the originalSplinter Cellgames seems like a perfect opportunity to bring the franchise back to the mainstream. Whether that’s with Sam Fisher (and his famous voice actor Michael Ironside) remains to be seen, but given how every cameo of Fisher has included old Fisher, a new revampedSplinter Cellcould be on the way.
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A Splinter Cell Remake Makes Sense Now
Not to mention the firstSplinter Cellgame is ripe for a remake. The game released all the way back in 2002, and was formative for the rest of the series up untilConviction. All of the stealth-focused gameplay, without some of the action game influences that came in later games,madeSplinter Cellwhat it used to be. Fans of the franchise’s golden days likeChaos Theoryhave been waiting patiently for another true-to-spiritSplinter Cellgame for years.Splinter Cell: Blacklistfrom 2013 certainly got close, but it wasn’t enough of a return to the traditional gameplay from the series' past.
Jumping back to the franchise’s roots with a remake would be the better decision, especially given the encouraging sign from thePrince of Persiaremake. It’s not a direct confirmation, but consideringthe original voice actor has returned with numerous cameos inGhost Recon, that could be in service to Michael Ironside reprising his role of Sam Fisher in a remake as well. Ubisoft has been relatively open about a newSplinter Cellproject in the works since 2018, albeit very little is known about the title. This may have been why, as theSplinter Cellseries could be getting a fresh start in the next console generation.
