Concern for the Splinter Cell reboot grows as it loses its director

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It's not looking great for Sam Fisher just at the moment

Splinter Cell
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

The director of the upcoming Splinter Cell reboot has left the project, causing concern about the status of the franchise’s return. 

As spotted on Linkedin (via Reddit), once director of the upcoming Splinter Cell reboot, David Grivel, has left the project. This sees the end of an 11-year career at Ubisoft for Grivel, where he worked across franchises like Ghost Recon, Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Splinter Cell.

This isn’t the best news for starved Splinter Cell fans, as it’s the only major revelation to come out of the reboot since it was confirmed last December. For those waiting expectantly for news on the project, there'd have been hope for something a little more uplifting. 

That being said, this isn't too abnormal for game development. Many top-ranking developers can come and go from projects for various reasons. With development so guarded that even Sam Fisher would struggle to get his hands on the secrets, it’s hard to know the current state of development or reasons for Grivel’s departure, who simply let on, "it is now time for me to go on a new adventure".

It’s been nearly a decade since the last major game in the Splinter Cell series, with Splinter Cell: Blacklist coming out back in 2013. However, Sam Fisher has been having a small renaissance outside of his own franchise in recent years. He’s shown up as Zero in Rainbow Six Siege, and had a special mission in Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and Ghost Recon: Wildlands. 

It’s clear this cross-pollination is meant to lead to the reintroduction of the upcoming reboot, however, with this news of Grivel’s departure, and the game only beginning to hire a team at the end of last year, it probably wise to set your expectations for a couple of years away.

Can't wait for Splinter Cell? Why not look at our list of the Best Tom Clancy Games. 

Patrick Dane
Freelance writer

Patrick Dane is the former Guides Editor at TechRadar. He is now a freelance games journalist writing for sites and publications such as GamesRadar, Metro, IGN, Eurogamer, PC Gamer, and the International Business Times, among others. He was also once the Managing Editor for Bleeding Cool.