Ubisoft was reportedly developing a new Splinter Cell game intended to incorporate games-as-a-service elements before it eventually morphed into XDefiant, which was recently shut down shortly after its initial release. Nick Herman, a former developer on the Splinter Cell project who later founded AdHoc Studios, revealed these details after launching a new episodic game, Dispatch. Herman expressed his enthusiasm for the Splinter Cell project, stating that he had high hopes for revitalizing the franchise, which had been dormant for some time.
The development reportedly lasted for a few months, aiming to create a narrative-driven games-as-a-service title. Herman mentioned there were several promising prototypes, but Ubisoft ultimately lost interest and decided to pivot toward a project that could compete with Call of Duty, which led to the creation of XDefiant directed by Mark Rubin, the former head of Call of Duty.
Rubin responded to the claims, asserting that it is "not true" that Ubisoft was working on a Splinter Cell project before XDefiant. He explained that when he joined Ubisoft, the team had been involved in an ambitious game that wasn’t successful in finding its fun factor and was not related to Splinter Cell. After terminating that project, Rubin allowed the team to propose new ideas, resulting in the decision to develop XDefiant as an arena shooter.
Although the Splinter Cell game was not completed, a remake of Splinter Cell is currently in development. Additionally, the Splinter Cell series’ live-action adaptation titled "Deathwatch" premiered on Netflix and has already been renewed for a second season, although a planned live-action movie adaptation has reportedly been canceled.
For further details about the projects mentioned, you can check out:
