Will the Splinter Cell rumors ever come to an end? Unlikely, but a recent report on the franchise’s status seems to put a damper on hopes the stealth series receiving a new entry in the near future. According to Kotaku’s Jason Schreier, Ubisoft does not have a new installment in production. If, for instance, the publisher were to tease something at this year’s E3, it would probably be a Splinter Cell project that’s several years out from release. Basically, Sam Fisher fans shouldn’t hold their breaths.
Schreier addressed this during a recent recording of Kotaku’s Splitscreen podcast. At around the 62 minute mark, the reporter shares the following about Splinter Cell’s future.
I’ve asked a bunch of people about this, because everyone wants to know, right? Everyone wants to know if a Splinter Cell game is coming. Everyone I’ve talked to has said, “no.” As far as they know, there’s no Splinter Cell in production. That said, it’s impossible to prove a negative. It’s impossible for me to definitively say ever, “this thing is not happening” at any given point. Because even if the people that I’ve talked to are not briefed on it, it may still exist. So I would say chances are low… The only thing I can say pretty definitively is that there’s no Splinter Cell coming out in the near future.
Splinter Cell rumors have been at the forefront of video game speculation for years. As former Assassin’s Creed Producer Jade Raymond recently revealed, a new Sam Fisher adventure was in the works as early as late 2014. Of course, silence and secrecy has shrouded the franchise in the intervening years since then. This hasn’t put a stop to an overwhelming number of rumors, however. Retail listings, reported pre-E3 leaks, and ambiguous social media posts from voice actors have kept speculation alive.
Still, Ubisoft won’t budge it seems. In fact, Splinter Cell’s absence, according to the publisher’s CCO Serge Hascoet, is a “question of means.” The series’ dormancy is supposedly a result of lacking resources. Meanwhile, CEO Yves Guillemot says fan pressure serves as another contributing factor.
Ubisoft’s E3 2019 press conference will go live on June 10th at 1pm PST.
[Source: Kotaku Splitscreen via PCGamesN]
