A new report reveals that Ubisoft was developing a new Splinter Cell game, but it wasn’t a traditional stealth title.
Instead, Ubisoft wanted to make it a narrative-focused games-as-a-service (GAAS) project.
🎮 What Happened
- Developer Nick Herman (now at AdHoc Studios) was part of the early team.
- He said they were excited to revitalize Splinter Cell, which had been dormant for years.
- Ubisoft wanted:
- A narrative GAAS Splinter Cell game
- Prototypes were created
- Team tried to make “narrative + GAAS” work, but it was difficult
❌ Ubisoft Lost Interest
- After only a few months, Ubisoft stopped caring about the project.
- The company shifted focus to a shooter meant to compete with Call of Duty.
- That shooter became XDefiant, directed by ex–CoD developer Mark Rubin.
📉 XDefiant Shut Down
- XDefiant launched, struggled, and was shut down after one year.
- Many developers involved were laid off.
🔦 The Splinter Cell Future
Even though this GAAS version was canceled:
- A Splinter Cell remake is still in development
- The Splinter Cell TV show “Deathwatch” on Netflix launched in October and already got renewed for Season 2
- The previously planned live-action movie appears to be dead
