After what feels like an eternity, Ubisoft has officially announced a new Splinter Cell game is in the works, this time it’s a remake of the first game.
According to Ubisoft, the upcoming remake will “deliver new-generation visuals and gameplay, and the dynamic lighting and shadows the series is known for.”
The title is being developed at Ubisoft Toronto and has a few staff members on the team including Creative Director Chris Auty, Producer Matt West, and Technical Producer Peter Handrinos.
When asked how they’ll be approaching the remake, in a Q&A blog post, producer Matt West said,
“A remake takes what you’d do in a remaster and goes a little bit further with it. The original Splinter Cell has a lot that was amazing and revolutionary at the time it came out, 19 years ago. The gaming public now has an even more refined palate. So, I think it kind of has to be a remake as opposed to a remaster. Although we’re still in the very earliest stages of development, what we’re trying to do is make sure the spirit of the early games remains intact, in all of the ways that gave early Splinter Cell its identity.”
When talking about what aspects are core to the remake’s development, West added that “One of the things that, from my point of view is really exciting about this project, is that the last couple of games all of us have worked on have been really big worlds. What that means is that the economy of decisions is very spread out, whereas what I love about a Splinter Cell map is every square inch represents intentionality. Every square inch is part of a choice, or directly offers a choice, or has a direct ramification. That density of gameplay is at the forefront in Splinter Cell, and that’s going to be really, really important for us. 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.”
The upcoming Splinter Cell Remake will be powered by the Snowdrop Engine that is being used for the forthcoming Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Ubisoft’s upcoming Star Wars game from Massive Entertainment.
No release window has been announced for the upcoming Splinter Cell remake but Ubisoft Toronto is currently hiring for this project.
