Ubisoft Forward Leaves Splinter Cell Fans in the Dark Once More

Key Highlights:

• Ubisoft once again failed to provide any updates on the highly anticipated Splinter Cell remake at their recent Ubisoft Forward event.
• Fans are growing increasingly frustrated over the lack of information, nearly 3 years after the remake was first announced in 2021.
• The Splinter Cell franchise was once a beloved staple for Ubisoft but has been dormant since the last mainline entry, Blacklist, released in 2013.

Splinter Cell Fans Desperately Seeking Updates

The Splinter Cell fan community is reaching a boiling point of frustration aimed squarely at publisher Ubisoft.

At the company’s recent Ubisoft Forward showcase, the highly anticipated remake of the original Splinter Cell game was once again completely absent without so much as a mention.

This lack of updates or acknowledgement is made even more maddening when considering just how long Splinter Cell devotees have been forced to go without a new mainline entry in the once-celebrated stealth-action franchise.

The last release, 2013’s Blacklist, is now over a decade old.

Despite the extended drought, excitement reached a fever pitch in 2021 when Ubisoft finally unveiled they were working on a full remake of the inaugural Splinter Cell to usher in a new era for legendary covert operative Sam Fisher.

However, in the nearly 3 years since that announcement, the publisher has doled out minuscule scraps of information.

Crickets From Ubisoft

Apart from a smattering of concept art pieces uncovered nearly a year after the original unveiling, Ubisoft has remained conspicuously silent on the Splinter Cell remake’s progress or any other meaningful details.

No gameplay footage, no trailers, not even a development update to reassure anxious fans that work is proceeding smoothly.

This deafening quiet seems almost designed to extinguish the remaining enthusiasm Splinter Cell loyalists are desperately clinging onto.

With each missed marketing opportunity like Ubisoft Forward, palpable frustration visibly ripples across the community.

Maintaining engagement and goodwill should be a top priority for the publisher, especially considering the stealth series prolonged hiatus already allowed apathy to set in for many lapsed fans over the past decade.

Ubisoft is now in real danger of squandering what’s left of the IP’s diehard following if they don’t course correct soon with some substantial updates or previews.

A Storied Franchise Drift

It’s a disappointing situation, given how prominent a position the Splinter Cell games once held in Ubisoft’s arsenal.

Across six mainline instalments between 2002 and 2013, players enthusiastically followed the covert missions of grizzled operative Sam Fisher as he infiltrated enemy strongholds with his iconic night vision goggles and suppressed weaponry.

While certainly not the first stealth game, Splinter Cell’s meticulous gameplay and tense, cinematic production values set a new standard that influenced an entire generation of the stealth genre.

Likened to the Metal Gear Solid series, it was arguably the go-to for stealth gaming back in the day.

It once ranked among Ubisoft’s crown jewel franchises alongside Assassin’s Creed.

These days, however, it’s hard not to feel the series has slipped into “after-thought” status within the publisher’s slate.

Sightings of Sam Fisher have become rare cameos, shuffled off to appearances in other Ubisoft games while his own long-awaited return is neglected.

The mere presence of Sam Fisher would be nothing out of the ordinary, and the character was so iconic at one stage, it would have been impossible not to see him alongside icons such as Sonic, Mario and Lara Croft.

These days though, many of the kids that haven’t grown up knowing about the series would most probably not even know who Sam Fisher is!

If the Splinter Cell remake does eventually see the light of day and aims to put the franchise back on the map, the publisher’s can’t afford to keep treating it like an afterthought much longer.

The patience pools are rapidly dwindling – and before long, even a flawless stealth operative may not be able to win back an audience that’s moved on.