A Splinter Cell remake has begun development at Ubisoft Toronto, the developer has confirmed.
In a new press release, Ubisoft stated that it had "greenlit the development of a Splinter Cell remake that will draw from the rich canvas of the brand." It'll be built in the Snowdrop Engine that's being used to make Ubisoft's upcoming Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and unnamed Star Wars Lucasfilm Games title.
This is the first major Splinter Cell release since Blacklist in 2013, and while it's only a remake, could mark the end of Ubisoft's reticence to revisit the series, which CEO Yves Guillemot has noted in the past.
Rumours of a new game have been swirling for years, but there's been no mention until now of a remake of the original. The best hint we've had on that front was a recent updating of the Splinter Cell trademark, but even that was no definite confirmation that anything was being worked on.
Since Blacklist, Sam Fisher has turned up in a few other projects, most notably a Splinter Cell game announced last year for Oculus.
Ubisoft announced the project with an interview with creative director Chris Auty, producer Matt West, and technical producer Peter Handrinos. During that conversation, West made it clear that the game was still in "the very earliest stages of development," and that the game would be rebuilt with visual and design updates.
Stealth will remain extremely important, and the developers also make clear that they're maintaining the original game's linear approach, distancing this project from reports of an open-world take on the series.
The longer-term future of Splinter Cell remains unclear, and there's absolutely no word on when this remake might release, but Auty does close the interview by saying that "with this remake, we are building a solid base for the future of Splinter Cell," which is likely to be good news for fans of the series who have been waiting patiently for a new game for many years.
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