First announced in 2021, Ubisoft's Splinter Cell Remake hasn't received many updates from the development studio Ubisoft Toronto. The lack of news surrounding the game has led to speculation that it may have been canceled.
However, a new report from Inside Gaming not only claims Splinter Cell Remake is still happening but there's also a tentative release window.
The report states that Splinter Cell Remake is being developed under the codename "North." Ubisoft's initial announcement confirmed the game is being rebuilt from the ground up using the Snowdrop Engine. Previous Splinter Cell games have used Unreal Engine 2 and 2.5, while the impressive Snowdrop engine has been used to develop Ubisoft's newer games like Tom Clancy's The Division 2, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and Star Wars Outlaws.
"Splinter Cell remains a ground-breaking series. Its gameplay, technology innovations and storytelling has left an immense legacy," Ubisoft said back in 2021. "Our team is carefully combing through the original to capture what made it so special 20 years ago, but finding new moments to surprise players with today’s technologies."
The original Splinter Cell was released in 2002, so naturally, the remake will see vast improvements. Ubisoft promised to deliver "new-generation visuals and gameplay, and the dynamic lighting and shadows the series is known for."
The Splinter Cell Remake was said to be in the "very earliest stages of development" when it was first announced three years ago, which could explain why there has been a lack of announcements from Ubisoft. At the time, producer Matt West said that the game would remain a linear experience.
“As we’re building it from the ground up, we’re going to update it visually, as well as some of the design elements to match player comfort and expectations, and we are going to keep it linear like the original games, not make it open world,” West said. “The gameplay experience we are targeting is directly tied to what we want players to feel, to capture the essence back when we were all playing the original games.”
It's unclear when we'll get any formal update about the remake, but sources have suggested that a release could come in 2026. That's not official though.
The last Splinter Cell game to release was 2013's Blacklist, which was the first game in the series to be developed by Ubisoft Toronto. The game received generally positive reviews with praise for its level design, story, gameplay, and combat. Despite positive reviews, the game sold just two million units, underperforming Ubisoft's sales expectations of at least five million units.