Ubisoft have announced another cross over with Splinter Cell’s Sam Fisher joining the cast of Rainbow Six Siege. He joins the game as part of the Operation Shadow Legacy update and will be a new Operator with the codename Specialist Zero.
Sam has guested in a number of games over the years but there has not been a Splinter Cell game since 2013. The character remains popular and it was recently revealed that an animated series may be on the way.
According to Variety, a deal has been struck between Ubisoft and Netflix to create an anime based on the iconic franchise. There seem to be some details already with Variety reporting that two seasons comprised of 16 episodes in total have been greenlit. Derek Kolstad, who is one of the key writers behind the John Wick films. has been linked as an executive producer and writer for the series.
Rumours of new Splinter Cell game have been rumbling around the industry for quite some time since the game was first listed in the great Walmart leak of E3 2018, in which a huge number of unannounced games such as Just Cause 4 and Rage 2 were detailed before their E3 debut.
In April 2019 Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot said “Last time we did a Splinter Cell, we had lots of pressure from all the fans saying, ‘Don’t change it; don’t do this; don’t do that.’ So some of the teams were more anxious to work on the brand,” said Yves. He also said that employees in Ubisoft were more keen to work on the bigger franchises such as Assassin’s Creed.
“Now there are some things and some people that are now looking at the brand; taking care of the brand. At one point you will see something but I can’t say more than that,” he teased.
In May the same year Ubisoft Creative Director Julian Gerighty tweeted “Working on the next #SplinterCell with @danhaynow and @romcamor in #Lyon. Can’t wait for #E3.” but then retracted the statements saying they were a joke. Of course they were.
Italian actor Luca Ward may also have to use the “I was joking guv, honest” excuse as he has now confirmed a new Splinter Cell game for 2021.
“There is this return of Splinter Cell that is supposed to be a conclusive episode, but I’m not sure about this part,” he said. “They have not yet figured out whether to do it in 2021. It was going to release in 2020, and then COVID-19 happened, and several big projects in 2020 got delayed. Others went on, like Cyberpunk 2077 on which I have almost finished working.”
“But I am sure that Splinter Cell will return, this is a fact,” he added.
We do know of a Splinter Cell game in development, but it’s a VR title and it will be exclusive to Oculus Rift rather than an entry to the main franchise. If another game is launching next year it will surely be on next gen consoles.
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Source: Youtube
