“Following the recent announcement of the final phase of Ubisoft’s global cost-savings plan and the discontinuation of projects, Ubisoft Toronto will be reducing its workforce by 40 roles,” said the spokesperson. “This decision was not taken lightly and does not in any way reflect the talent, dedication, or contributions of the individuals affected. Our priority now is to support them through this transition with comprehensive severance packages and robust career placement assistance.”

“The Toronto studio continues development on the Splinter Cell game and serves as a co-development partner on Rainbow Six, along with supporting additional co-development projects.”

Ubisoft had announced its major organizational overhaul last month, and in the process, cancelled six projects, one of which was Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake. The title was joined by 5 unannounced other games in being cancelled. The cost-cutting measures have also involved the closure of two other Ubisoft studios – Halifax and Stockholm – and moving forward, the company is adopting a new structure that will revolve around five Creative Houses, each one being responsible for certain franchises, genres, and demographics.

A recent rumor has indicated that Ubisoft has also cancelled co-op shooter Pathfinder, which was previously known as Project U. An Assassin’s Creed game being made for mobiles, with plans for an eventual PC release, was also among those cancelled.

Since this major announcement, Ubisoft has been getting quite a bit of criticism from its France-based employees. Earlier this month, at least 1,200 employees kicked off a three-day strike in response to the cost-cutting. Solidaires Infomatique representative Marc Rutschlé noted that employees had been working under pressure, while also being understaffed, and had gone several years without pay rises.

“At this stage, it seems clear to us that Yves Guillemot has no knowledge or understanding of his company or its employees,” he said. “The company is continuing its cost reduction and layoff plan. Our teams are already working under pressure, often understaffed. After several years without pay rises (or very small increases), we understand that once again, employees will not receive a raise this year.”

The strike came shortly after Rutschlé, alongside fellow union representative Chakib Mataoui, called for the resignation of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. The two called out the company for its blatant nepotism, pointing to Yves appointing his son Charlie as CEO of Vantage Studios, as well as the lack of diversity in top management.

“If you just put your white male friends in [those jobs], then you don’t promote any diversity or get any new opinions or ideas,” said Mataoui. “We are in a creative job. We need new ideas to come in to [help us] make great new games. But we don’t have that. We don’t have this mindset for creativity.”

2026 and possibly, 2027 are situated to be absolutely massive in terms of AAA game releases. Need I say more than GTA 6? Splinter Cell Remake has some murky waters to navigate, but if there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s that it’s alive and preparing for the spotlight. So, why is Splinter Cell Remake taking so long and what do we currently know about the elusive project?

The developer officially unveiled the Splinter Cell Remake on December 15, 2021, positioning the studio behind Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Far Cry 6 (Toronto) as the head team. As of late 2025, that hasn’t changed. And as far as we know, it’s still being built “from the ground up” like other heavy-hitter remakes of the modern era. The Snowdrop engine is powering the remake, but little is known about project details other than some developer comments and recent leadership changes.

The most recent movement involves the return of the original project director, David Grivel. Grivel was the lead developer of the remake before leaving the developer in 2022. During his absence, the game was led by Andrea Schmoll, who departed in late 2025. The discourse around her departure was that the remake was yet another dead dev hell project under turmoil…until Grivel announced via LinkedIn about his return to the project lead chair. The developer has a history of rebooting troubled projects internally when they lose direction, so the worries aren’t unfounded, but the return of the original project lead is at least a good sign going forward.

Another potential bright spot for the remake is the use of the Snowdrop engine. The engine has its detractors, most notably aimed towards Star Wars Outlaws and how glitch-prone that game was at launch, but it seems tailor-made for Splinter Cell and it’s more linear nature. Snowdrop is known for its dense volumetric lighting, high-fidelity environments, and dynamic shadow systems. These are elements that can really make those dark oil refineries and embassy infiltrations pop. Sam Fisher’s world has always depended on darkness, contrast, and light manipulation, and Snowdrop’s real-time global illumination and shadow rendering should allow for reactive stealth and more gradual transitions between light levels. Series staples like shooting out lights or using night-vision goggles stand to gain significantly from Snowdrop’s lighting model.

Although the developer has never publicly confirmed a release window, insiders have repeatedly suggested 2026 as the earliest possibility, and that still seems likely given recent projections by Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson. The developer’s pipeline for 2026 and 2027 have been outlined through a report and Splinter Cell Remake is on there along with a Rayman Remake, Assassin’s Creed Hexe, and new Far Cry and Ghost Recon games.

Though, let’s be realistic here. 2025 is nearing its end and the remake still has no gameplay reveal. A 2026 launch is optimistic at best. However, scarce marketing leading to an imminent release aren’t unprecedented. After all, Oblivion Remastered shadow dropped with no lead-up earlier in the year. Sure, it wasn’t a full-on remake, but wasn’t exactly insubstantial with its additions and overhauls either. Still, with little to no development updates, no gameplay, and not a peep of marketing, 2026 still seems like a stretch for Splinter Cell Remake.

Speaking of the gameplay, what do we know? Well, since the initial announcement video in 2021, the developer has shown no gameplay whatsoever, not even a brief in-engine demonstration. As we revealed previously, as part of Splinter Cell’s 20 year anniversary in 2022, some concept art images were shown, but that’s it. The absence is increasingly unusual given how long the project has been in development, though not unprecedented for remakes that undergo leadership changes.

One persistent rumor early in development suggested the game might shift toward an open-world structure similar to Halo Infinite, something we originally reported. Thankfully, this rumor has been shut down by Producer Matt West who stated that it will be linear. The Splinter Cell Remake will be linear, not open world, preserving the deliberate pacing and stealth-focused mission design of the original.

The creative team has assured fans that the cat-and-mouse slow burn gameplay is a alive and well, and actually improved thanks to advancements in AI enemy behaviors. The feel of those early Splinter Cell titles is intentionally being kept, with strength coming not from might but Sam’s gadgets and cunning planning. What I’m excited about is the delightful dark humor characteristic with the many interrogations Sam Fisher engages in. The facial expressions will be leaps and bounds above what the original could do. I’m just hoping that Michael Ironside voices Sam, although that’s not guaranteed.

On the narrative front, there has been no updates. As previously reported, the developer has been quiet since 2022 when a scriptwriter job posting revealed the first meaningful update. The job posting revealed that the first Splinter Cell is being used as a ‘foundation’ and that rewrites and updates are happening to the story. Further fanning the flames are remarks that Splinter Cell Remake’s story is being updated for ‘a modern-day audience’. These comments were posted years ago, but without further clarification, we can assume that vision remains today.

The 2022 posting also assures fans that, “We want to keep the spirit and themes of the original game while exploring our characters and the world to make them more authentic and believable.”

This implies that the Georgia-focused plot and Sam Fisher’s search for missing operatives are staying in some form, but the script will likely adjust the context and realism a tad. I wouldn’t be surprised to see drone warfare and contemporary surveillance tech being used as a reinterpretation of the original’s espionage setup. I just hope the characters aren’t modernized in a self-insert kind of manner.

Unlike remasters, fully modern remakes take time, for example, Final Fantasy VII Remake took 5 years. Like that, Splinter Cell Remake is being crafted from the ground-up using a new engine and modern techniques. This means all the environments, lighting systems, AI, gadgets, animations, and cinematics have to be built from scratch. No prior assets or foundation (like Oblivion Remastered had with its underlying 2006 engine).

And then there’s the company itself. Their corporate environment has shifted dramatically over the past year. The company’s restructuring and its broad partnership with Tencent in 2025 led to numerous cancellations, team reallocations, and internal game of musical chairs. Projects across Montreal, Toronto (the team behind Splinter Cell), and Massive were affected. Leadership shifts on Splinter Cell likely caused resets or reworks to multiple systems.

As 2025 winds down, the Splinter Cell Remake remains hidden out of sight. It’s a quietly active project with a returning team lead, but still has no marketing push at all. Despite leadership turnover and long silences, the project continues to move forward inside Toronto, supported by an engine that seems perfectly suited for the espionage fans have come to expect from the series.

If the 2026 to 2027 release projections are to be believed, perhaps we’ll see Splinter Cell Remake at a Forward event or a summer showcase. Until then, Splinter Cell exists exactly where Sam Fisher is most comfortable: in the dark, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

In a statement provided to PC Gamer, Ubisoft Toronto stated that it was reducing jobs in order to streamline itself and be in a better position to “deliver on its ambitious roadmap”.

“Ubisoft Toronto has decided to conduct a targeted realignment to ensure it can deliver on its ambitious roadmap,” a representative said. “Unfortunately, this will impact the roles of 33 team members who will be leaving Ubisoft. We are committed to providing comprehensive support to them, including severance and career assistance, to help through this transition.”

Ubisoft Toronto is currently serving as the lead developer on a remake of the original Splinter Cell. Additionally, earlier this month, it was announced that the studio would be providing development support on the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake, which is due out in 2026. Ubisoft says work on both projects will remain unaffected by the layoffs.

“Our plan remains unchanged, and our teams are working to deliver on the Splinter Cell remake and other projects at the studio,” the company says.

This isn’t the first time Ubisoft has been hit with layoffs this year. In April, the company announced that it was reorganizing its Global Publishing and APAC divisions, resulting in the loss of 45 jobs.

Taking to Twitter via its official page, Ubisoft Toronto announced that it has joined the development of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake. “We’re excited to rewind time and bring our studio’s creativity, expertise and updated tech to refresh this beloved classic with our partners at Ubisoft Montreal,” the studio wrote.

Ubisoft Toronto was founded back in 2010, and has, since then, served as lead developer on major projects such as Splinter Cell Blacklist, Watch Dogs: Legion, and Far Cry 6. The studio is currently also leading development on a remake of the original Splinter Cell. 

As for the Sands of Time remake, there’s no concrete word yet on how far along the game is in development, but in November last year, Ubisoft said that it was still in development, and that the project had “passed an important internal milestone”. A recent report claimed that the game was still in the early stages of development. Read more on that through here.

Ubisoft Toronto is joining the development of the remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time!

We’re excited to rewind time and bring our studio’s creativity, expertise and updated tech to refresh this beloved classic with our partners at @UbisoftMTL. pic.twitter.com/kksyihIjKG

— Ubisoft Toronto (@UbisoftToronto) June 3, 2024

Of course, between all the headlines and controversies, the conversations about the best games and what we can look forward to in 2024, there are several games which we’ve heard very little about. We’re talking about the games that made a splash after being announced and seemingly vanished into the ether with very little follow-up information.

Bloober Team’s remake of Silent Hill 2 had a big reveal last year after seemingly endless rumors about the franchise’s future. However, the updates have been muted in 2023, to the extent that the developer had to reassure fans that it’s still in development, definitely not cancelled and that Konami is the publisher and thus the one to reveal more information. Then there’s Hollow Knight: Silksong, Team Cherry’s long-awaited sequel to its 2017 masterpiece, announced in 2019 and recently delayed past the first half of the year to an unknown date.

By comparison, publisher’s announcement of the Splinter Cell Remake isn’t that old…right? Then you remember that it was announced in 2021 after years of cameos by Sam Fisher in other titles, as many wondered when a sequel would be released. It was after the publisher’s constant explanations about its absence, especially considering the last major title was Splinter Cell: Blacklist in 2013.

With 2023 almost over and very few updates, it feels like a good time to ask: Where is the Splinter Cell Remake?

The last major update saw creative director Chris Auty outlining the team’s plan to make the entire game playable without requiring the player to kill anyone. It’s also scaling back on the whole “trigger an alarm three times and fail” condition in missions, which is what Chaos Theory did anyway. Plus, it wants to offer more ways to “de-escalate” situations and improve the “minute-to-minute stealth gameplay” that made the original so special. All of these are admittedly noble goals.

It’s worth noting in the initial announcement that the Toronto branch, which is in charge of the project, said it was in “the very earliest stages of development.” The “remake” term is fully applicable here, as the original is being built from the ground up in Snowdrop Engine. However, the development team is brand new, with the studio hiring balancing newcomers with new ideas with the veterans already present.

While it makes sense, it also takes time. Maintaining the essence of what makes Splinter Cell so great is one thing. Updating it for a modern audience using new technology while refining the entire experience to support a non-lethal playstyle? While also providing new means to play and probably some new content on top of everything else, but maintaining the feel of the original? That’s not to mention an “updated story for the modern-day audience”, per a job listing from last year, which could mean creating new story beats and scenes.

Cut to 2022, with the developer revealing new concept art for the remake, featuring familiar locations. Auty confirmed that the title is still “very early in production” and the team is “still prototyping.” It doesn’t want to rush anything and is currently set on ensuring it “absolutely nails the game” and does “everything in the right way” to produce a great experience for fans. He also confirmed that the team would be “going dark for a little” to focus on “making the absolute best game possible.”

So that explains the relative lack of new details. It’s probably amazing that we even got the update earlier this year.

As much as some people like to clown on remakes and how they shouldn’t be nominated for awards, there’s no denying that they take a lot of work. This year’s remake of Dead Space was announced in July 2021 and initially set to launch in late 2022 before Electronic Arts delayed it to January 2023 for the sake of more polish. The acclaimed remake of Resident Evil 2, which has inspired so many other studios to develop high-quality remakes, was first announced in August 2015 and wouldn’t be released until January 2019.

Other rumors discussing revamps and other changes would circulate for years. So when you hear that prototyping for the Splinter Cell Remake is ongoing, assume nothing is final or locked down. Until that happens, which also takes time, we’ll have to wait.

Game development requiring time, resources, and some luck is only one part of the equation in this case. That’s because of publisher’s part in everything. In December 2021, it was initially scoping the next Splinter Cell to be an open-world title with a scale similar to Halo Infinite.

Whether that’s still happening is unknown, especially with all the projects it’s cancelled in the past few years, like Ghost Recon Frontline, Project Q and even a rumor Splinter Cell battle royale. Some of these projects were pretty far along, but the publisher decided to cancel them anyway, perhaps due to market saturation in the case of the multiplayer games.

It isn’t to say the same fate could befall the Splinter Cell Remake. With how much thought and care has gone into assembling the development team, let alone the approach to honoring the original’s gameplay while modernizing its themes, it’s hard to believe that publisher would drop it just like that. After all, a smaller-scale stealth title may be what it needs.

However, you can never be sure, especially in a year with so many layoffs and a company with more misses than hits in recent times. Things are always in flux. You would hope publisher understands the importance of its IP and nurturing games that fans will care about. Then again, this is also the same publisher rumored last July to have 11 titles in development.

As much as some developers want to revisit your favorite franchises, those at the top of the company are motivated by profit and what sells, though that also hasn’t stopped publisher from sinking money into Skull and Bones to keep it alive long enough to delay it again for some messed up reason.

There’s still much that can go wrong, but you could say the same for any video game project in early development. Some of its new ideas may not work. It may have performance issues, especially with what the team wants to do in Snowdrop. It may be unenjoyable and require further changes (if not a complete overhaul). Such are the challenges that a development team faces daily. Here’s hoping that the Splinter Cell Remake reaches that point and begins the journey to success with the least hangups.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Unlike previous titles, Watch Dogs: Legion doesn’t have a single protagonist. Players can recruit anyone from the open world and add them to the team. Each NPC has unique traits and skills that can be useful, whether it’s a Professional with exceptional firearms handling or a Drone Operator who can, well, control drones.

In addition to the base game, the Deluxe, Gold and Ultimate Editions are available for 80 percent off on Steam until February 2nd. Steam Achievements aren’t supported, and you’ll still need Ubisoft Connect to run the game, so keep that in mind. Check out our review here for more details on the base game. It’s also available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 and PS5.

The studio noted, “Using the first Splinter Cell game as our foundation we are rewriting and updating the story for a modern-day audience.” It wants to “keep the spirit and themes of the original game while exploring our characters and the world to make them more authentic and believable.” The goal is to create a “cohesive and compelling narrative experience” that will appeal to “a new audience of Splinter Cell fans.”

Some aspects of the job include dialogue for in-game VO and cinematic scenes, scripted and systemic dialogue like NPC conversation, developing character arcs, and so on. The Scriptwriter will also be “Revising and editing dialogue based on director/lead feedback to ensure quality and consistency.”

As such, the updates and rewrites could ensure better flow for the dialogue, along with being more realistic and relevant to the modern age. Time will ultimately tell if any story beats are changed or outright removed, but it wouldn’t be the strangest thing for a remake, as seen with the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 3.

The Splinter Cell remake is in “the very earliest stages of development” as of last year, so it may be a while before anything is revealed. Stay tuned in the meantime for any details.

According to the developer, it’s “still working on the feature” and will only announce a release date “when we are absolutely satisfied with the quality.” The good news is that The Division 2 will have a Year 5 thanks to the support of Ubisoft Bucharest, Ubisoft Toronto and Ubisoft Shanghai (which also worked on Year 4). No news yet on what can be expected so stay tuned in the coming months.

As for The Division on mobile platforms, announced in May 2021, there will be an update in the “very near future.” The current roadmap indicates an announcement this month so stay tuned. Red Storm Entertainment is working on The Division Heartland with closed testing ongoing. Those who wish to participate can sign up here with more information coming at a “later date.”

Creative director Chris Auty, producer Matt West and technical producer Peter Handrinos were interviewed about various aspects of the remake. When asked about his approach and how this isn’t a remaster, West said, “To me, 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.”

He also noted that the project is in “the very earliest stages of development” and that the team is ensuring that the “spirit” of the early games remains intact. “So, 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. How do we make sure that new fans are able to pick up the controller and dive right in, and fall in love with the game and the world right from the get-go?”

As to the use of Snowdrop (Ubisoft Massive’s engine which is also being used for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and their unnamed Star Wars game), Handrinos said it’s “a proven modern AAA engine. It empowers content creators and programmers alike to try things quickly, see what works, and ultimately find success. I think that’s one of its major advantages, allowing us to quickly find the modern equivalent of that core Splinter Cell gameplay. Some other AAA engines out there do not afford this type of iteration speed, necessarily, and so this is really what gives Snowdrop an edge when bringing Splinter Cell up to speed on a modern engine.”

Auty further added that, “From a team perspective, we’re all behind that philosophy, that the stuff that gets added is not just eye candy. It has a relevance and a bearing on the on the game itself. So that was a huge, defining moment for me playing Splinter Cell for the first time, seeing that tech and being blown away by it, and then seeing it integrated into gameplay. That was a big moment, and a good memory.”

A new team is being built, for which Ubisoft Toronto is currently hiring for the project but Handrinos noted that, “There are a lot of vets here, so we’re going to have a really good mix of people who have worked on previous Splinter Cell games, and new team members who are joining and bringing fresh energy and fresh ideas.”

“It’s safe to say a lot of us on the team are stealth purists, and we’re behind that level of seriousness when it comes to those kinds of mechanics, and those sorts of things that we want to see in this game. And we’re very, very aware of what makes classic Splinter Cell what it is,” said Auty.

Various rumors have noted that a new Splinter Cell is in development and will have an open world approach similar to Halo Infinite. No details were provided here but it’s reportedly being announced in 2022. We’ll have to wait and see how the Splinter Cell Remake ties into that – if at all – over the coming months so stay tuned.

This includes Ammo Types which range from soft and armor piercing to incendiary and poison. Depending on the enemy being faced, you might want to keep different ammo types handy (armor piercing is more effective on Heavies, for example). But the best part is that you don’t need to carry special ammo – if you have regular ammo for a weapon type, it automatically changes to suit the ammo type of the weapon.

There’s also the Gear system which offers different skills, like automatically extinguishing any fires on the player or gaining a speed boost after sliding. But there’s also transmog, allowing you to keep a gear piece’s stats while changing its looks. Horses are also worth noting as they’re good for navigating steep and rocky terrain.

Far Cry 6 is out on October 7th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC and Google Stadia. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.