Splinter Cell dev wants to "broaden the horizons of the series" to new players

Splinter Cell
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

The Ubisoft studio in charge of the new Splinter Cell wants to bring in new players while also being sure to satisfy the core of Sam Fisher's faithful.

Ubisoft Toronto managing director Istvan Tajnay shed some light on how his studio is approaching the heavy task of bringing back Splinter Cell in an official Ubisoft interview. He said he's feeling a mixture of excitement, pride, and responsibility at picking up the future of the series: "we know how high the expectations of the fans are for us to modernize the brand while making absolutely sure we don't lose any of its essence; we want to make sure that Splinter Cell fans really love it."

Tajnay said playing the original Splinter Cell before he became a game developer was impressive, particularly in "how uncompromising the focus on stealth was, and how it redefined what stealth meant in a video game." But how do you do that again for modern players? With the new Splinter Cell still very early in development according to its initial announcement, Ubisoft Toronto still has a lot of time to answer that question.

"When it comes to future projects, I want the studio to revive the Splinter Cell brand," Tajnay said. "To really satisfy its core audience that is very hungry for a new Splinter Cell and also broaden the horizon of the series to new players. I see a bright future for Splinter Cell."

The interview is also a not-so-subtle about being an informal recruitment ad, with lots of talk about how Ubisoft Toronto is seeking diverse job applicants and how the studio aims to grow over the next five years. In other words, while Ubisoft Toronto already put out both Far Cry 6 and Watch Dogs: Legion in rapid succession, we should expect even more from it going forward.

The new Splinter Cell will be a while, but you can see what we're looking forward to playing before then with our guide to new games 2022. 

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.