Ubisoft has surprised the gaming world with the announcement that Ubisoft Toronto is leading development on a remake of the original Splinter Cell game.
Ubisoft Toronto will lead development on a ground-up remake of the original Splinter Cell that was released back in 2002 for Microsoft’s first Xbox console, affectionately known as the “OG Xbox.”
Return of the king
The Splinter Cell remake will be developed using Ubisoft’s Snowdrop engine, the same engine that is powering the upcoming Star Wars Ubisoft game as well as Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.
While the announcement has got fans excited for the return of Sam Fisher, the announcement itself is very light on details about the game, with Ubisoft choosing to revisit the original game in an eight-minute video where numerous developers talk about what made the game so compelling back in 2002, and what that means for the development team going forward.
There’s no Splinter Cell remake gameplay, nor are there any screenshots. We don’t even know if Michael Ironside and his iconic gruffed tones will be returning. We don’t know the release date and we don’t know which consoles it will release on, though there is a hint on the Ubisoft blog that the Splinter Cell remake will be a next-gen exclusive, and PC, naturally.
The opening of the announcement blog post states that by using the Snowdrop engine, the team at Ubisoft Toronto will be able to deliver “new-generation visuals and gameplay, and the dynamic lighting and shadows the series is known for.”
With the new consoles – the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S – still finding their audiences through stock shortages and a troubled economy, a next-gen remake of an old yet popular game would be a safe bet.