Ubisoft has announced that it is working on a remake of the iconic Tom Clancy game, the original Splinter Cell, in celebration of its 20th anniversary next year.
The remake is under the helm of Ubisoft Toronto, the studio responsible for the franchise’s last release, Splinter Cell Blacklist in 2013, as well as Far Cry 6 and Watch Dogs: Legion.
The game will be reconstructed from the ground up using the in-house Snowdrop game engine, also employed in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and the upcoming narrative-driven Star Wars game in collaboration with Lucasfilm.
Ubisoft has stated that Snowdrop will enable the delivery of “new-generation visuals and gameplay, and the dynamic lighting and shadows the series is known for.” The game is said to “draw from the rich canvas of the brand,” as per a blog post on December 15.
Originally launched in 2002, the first Splinter Cell stealth shooter game gained popularity on PS2 and Xbox, leading to several sequels and spin-offs. The upcoming remake will be available for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Ubisoft has clarified that this will be a full remake, not just a remaster like those seen in recent years.
Matt West of Ubisoft Toronto stated, “Although we’re still in the very earliest stages of development, what we’re trying to do is make sure the spirit of the early games remains intact, in all of the ways that gave early Splinter Cell its identity. So, as we’re building it from the ground up, we’re going to update it visually, as well as some of the design elements to match player comfort and expectations, and we are going to keep it linear like the original games, not make it open world.”
His college Peter Handrinos added, “From a tech perspective, if I had to boil it down to a couple of words in terms of the difference, what we’re doing is exploration and innovation here. We’ve got a new engine and a new console lifecycle to take advantage of, so the tech is one area that we don’t want stuck in the past.”
There’s no indication of a potential release window from Ubisoft, but this is undoubtedly a project to keep an eye on.
