Key Takeaways
1. Ubisoft canceled a promising Splinter Cell game that was in development in 2017.
2. The development team felt proud and excited about reviving the franchise and creating a great story for fans.
3. The cancellation led to disappointment among the team, highlighting issues in the gaming industry regarding project value.
4. Ubisoft shifted focus to live service games, leading to the transformation of the Splinter Cell project into XDefiant.
5. XDefiant ultimately flopped, resulting in server shutdowns and the closure of related studios.
Splinter Cell is definitely one of the most loved franchises in gaming, and lots of fans are waiting for a new game to come out. But, according to Jason Schreier from Bloomberg, Ubisoft canceled a game from this series a few years back.
Insights from the Development Team
In a report, Nick Herman shared that he, along with Dennis Lenart and Pierre Shorette, was developing a Splinter Cell game in 2017 while at Ubisoft. He mentioned that the project was looking very promising, and the entire team felt proud of their work:
“I was thrilled to be involved in reviving this franchise, which had been quiet for a while. We believed we could create an amazing story that fans would really enjoy.”
Disappointment Over Canceled Project
However, Ubisoft decided to cancel this project, leaving Nick Herman quite disappointed:
“For the first six months, it was really exciting to go to work, because we thought we were on the verge of making something wonderful. Then, you come to the harsh realization that what you care about doesn’t matter to them anymore. This is a frequent issue in the gaming industry.”
Shift in Focus for Ubisoft
Regarding why the game was canceled, Nick Herman pointed out that Ubisoft shifted its focus to live service games and lost interest in other projects. Consequently, this Splinter Cell game transformed into XDefiant, a title designed to rival Call of Duty. But, as many know, that game was also a flop.
It’s worth mentioning that there was very little content available for players, and the servers shut down last June, just over a year after it launched. This closure led to the shutdown of the San Francisco and Osaka studios.
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