Ubisoft Cancels 6 Major Projects, Beloved Stealth Classic Now at Risk
Topics: Ubisoft, Splinter Cell, Xbox, PlayStation, PC
Featured Image Credit: Ubisoft
Topics: Ubisoft, Splinter Cell, Xbox, PlayStation, PC
Splinter Cell is one of my personal favourite video game series but like so many others it’s sort of died a death, and Ubisoft’s latest cancellation spree hasn’t helped.
When the news broke yesterday that Ubisoft was to undergo an enormous reshuffle and had cancelled six major games, I was sad to hear the long-awaited Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake had been cancelled.
Perhaps selfishly though, my first thought went to the rumoured Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag remake, as that’s my favourite Assassin’s Creed game and, like many, I’m worried it’ll never see the light of day.
Sleeping on it, my thoughts are elsewhere this morning.
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Despite it being the one Ubisoft series that continuously brings me back, I hadn’t considered the possibility of theTom Clancy's Splinter Cell remake being cancelled too, and now I’m terrified.
After a major review of its upcoming games, Ubisoft has made the decision to “refocus its portfolio, reallocate resources and comprehensively revise its roadmap over the next three years”.
This means that six games have been ‘discontinued’ because they “do not meet the new enhanced quality as well as more selective portfolio prioritization criteria”. Oof.
We know Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. However, at time of writing, we currently don’t know which other games have been cancelled.
We do know that it includes three new IPs and a mobile title, all which will never see the light of day.
If your game survived the wave of cuts, it might’ve been delayed. Seven other titles have been delayed, perhaps indefinitely, to “ensure enhanced quality benchmarks are fully met”. This includes “the unannounced title initially planned for FY26 [ending March 2026], that has been delayed to FY27”.
Like Sam Fisher sneaking his way through a military complex the remake has been lurking in the dark for a while now, with only a tidbit of information shared here and there on its progress.
When we last heard about it a director who previously left the project returned to finish what they’d started, that’s how long it’s been in development.
It honestly wouldn’t surprise me to learn Ubisoft threw Splinter Cell to the wolves.
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Like I said before the series has been virtually dead for quite some time. Sam Fisher has been popping up in other Ubisoft games like Rainbow Six Siege and even received an anime adaptation, but hasn’t starred in his own mainline game since 2013.
Compared to other Ubisoft IPs like Assassin’s Creed it feels like Splinter Cell is far from being a priority, which is understandable as it’s quite a niche series. Being rooted in stealth-action gameplay it lacks the widespread appeal of other genres.
Nevertheless it deserves its day and I wholeheartedly hope that it’s being given a fair chance as Ubisoft reorganises itself.
If it fails spectacularly I’ll concede. Splinter Cell as we know it will be buried and the only hope will be a reboot somewhere in the far future, but the probability of that feels slim to none.
That being said, in light of all this drama and confusion it feels like Ubisoft doesn’t have anything less to lose, so why not shadowdrop the Splinter Cell remake this year or the next like one of Fisher’s iconic stealth-takedowns.