Fans Are Convinced a New Splinter Cell Game is Coming Soon

Earlier this week, Ubisoft unveiled and released Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildland's latest cameo character: Sam Fisher of Splinter Cell fame.

The combination of Sam Fisher's semi-out-of-nowhere inclusion and a few interesting tidbits derived from his implementation, have Splinter Cell fans convinced that a new game from the award-winning stealth series is poised to be announced soon.

Let's look at the evidence.

First off, you have the inclusion of Sam Fischer in Ghost Recon Wildlands in the first place. This simply could be a little crossover event that boosts interest in Wildlands, whilst reminding people about the Splinter Cell brand. Or it could be Ubisoft teasing a new game in the series. It makes sense that Ubisoft may want to revive chatter and fans of the dormant series before an announcement. However, Sam Fisher simply joining Wildlands isn't enough alone to warrant too much speculation about a new Splinter Cell game.

Good thing, it's not the only thing fans are latching onto.

Ubisoft also notably brought back Michael Ironside, the actor who played Fisher throughout the series, up until the last game: 2013's Blacklist. This raises the question: why would Ubisoft go through the trouble of getting Ironside back in the booth just for a few lines in some small DLC not many people will play? No, if you're going to go back and get Michael Ironside – who many fans audibly complained about not being in the last game – you would think it would be because you have bigger plans for the series. Like, a new game.

Interestingly, Sam Fischer in the Wildlands DLC isn't the Sam Fisher of yesteryear. He's older and greyer. If there was a new game in the series, it might make sense that some time has passed, and thus Fisher is bit older than we are used to seeing him.

Lastly, there's a cutscene in the DLC where Linda gives Fisher a new mission. Said scene goes:

"Grim sent word," she begins.

"About what?"

"Chairman of the Joint Chiefs says there's a possible 'Empty Quiver'. I can get you airborne in one hour."

"Really? You know, a guy once said, 'The price of success is hard work and dedication.' An hour, huh?"

"That's right."

"You got any coffee?"

"This is Bolivia. Of course there's coffee."

You can see the exchange for yourself below (skip to 5:36, via MaxPowerzs):

As fans have noted, this exchange not only hints at another adventure for Sam, but perhaps provides details on the nature of said adventure. "Empty Quiver" is notably United States military nuclear incident terminology and refers to the seizure, theft, or loss of a functioning nuclear weapon. Thus, perhaps the next Splinter Cell game will revolve around Sam trying to retrieve said nuclear weapon.

As always, take all of this with a grain of salt, because at the moment, it is nothing more than informed and observant speculation. However, the above evidence, coupled with the fact that Ubisoft has said in the past it hasn't forgotten about the series, that "Splinter Cell 2018" surfaced on Amazon, and that Ironside himself has hinted at a new game, all has fans eagerly anticipating an imminent announcement. Perhaps said announcement will come at E3 2018 during Ubisoft's press conference this June. Only time will tell.

Thanks, Eurogamer.