A New Splinter Cell Teased by Ubisoft Spain
A new Splinter Cell game could be on the horizon. At least, fans are hoping that is the case. In a recent tweet, Ubisoft Spain subtly hinted at the possibility of Sam Fisher’s return. The tweet loosely translates to the following:
“You need to understand the darkness to face it… #SamFisher”
The Analysis
Although a new game is exciting, fans should temper expectations. The last time we saw Sam Fisher was 2013 in Splinter Cell: Blacklist, which launched to disappointing sales. Ubisoft executive Alain Martinez stated, “As we have said, we have experienced lower sales than we anticipated when we gave our targets, [which include] already released games such as Splinter Cell.”
Anytime a storied series sells poorly, companies are hesitant to release new games. Fast forward to 2017, and Ubisoft stated that it would consider making new games for old series. Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat stated, “If some of the creative comes to us and says ‘Hey, by the way, I have this crazy idea’ about a brand that we have not done anything with for many years, we will listen.”
Surely developers had crazy ideas for Splinter Cell since then, right? Apparently not, because Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot told IGN in an interview earlier this year, “When you create a game, you have to make sure you will come with something that will be different enough from what you did before. The last time we did a Splinter Cell, we had lots of pressure from all the fans saying, ‘Do not change it; do not do that.’ So some of the teams were more anxious to work on the brand.”
Conclusion
Is the Ubisoft Toronto team burned out? Do they not have any new ideas? Are fan expectations to blame? Perhaps it is a combination of the above, but we do know that Ubisoft Toronto is mum right now. This likely means that Ubisoft has no plans to release a new game or is closely holding the information. Ubisoft’s next opportunity to surprise fans is likely the Game Awards scheduled for December 12. Time will tell if the annual awards show will revive Sam Fisher’s legacy, but fans should not hold their breath.
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