Splinter Cell Remake in the works at Ubisoft Toronto

Splinter Cell is back. Publisher Ubisoft announced today that it is going back to its beloved stealth-action series with a new project in development at Ubisoft Toronto. That team worked on Far Cry 6 as well as Splinter Cell: Blacklist. This new game will draw from previous games in the series to build something that feels familiar and new. The company also confirmed it is using The Division’s Snowdrop game-development engine to re-create Splinter Cell’s dynamic light-and-shadow mechanics.

In an interview on Ubisoft’s news page, Splinter Cell Remake producer Matt West explained what makes this game a remake rather than a remaster.

“To me, a remake takes what you’d do in a remaster and goes a little bit further with it,” said West. “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.”

As for what the game will feel like, the team wants to recapture the feeling of the original. That means you should not expect Splinter Cell Remake to play like Metal Gear Solid V or Far Cry.

“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,” said West.

So no open world — but that might mean Toronto can get this game out in a reasonable timeframe.