New Splinter Cell starring Michael Ironside rumoured to be in the works at Ubisoft

Ubisoft is working on a new entry in the Splinter Cell series with Michael Ironside returning to star as series protagonist Sam Fisher, according to a new rumour. The series hasn't been seen or heard of since 2013's Splinter Cell: Blacklist.

The report comes from trusted NeoGAF user Crossing Eden, who is known to have insider sources at Ubisoft. Quoting his source, he wrote: "I haven't been involved with Steep or [Ghost Recon:] Wildlands, but I was surprised Splinter Cell didn't appear at E3. I know Ironside is back. He was in the studio, I said hi to him and his daughter.

"He was shooting a movie with Amy Jo Johnson, and I know someone who worked on that set and Ironside confirmed to him he was doing the new Splinter Cell. I know Toronto has the mocap (motion capture) studio for it."

The source goes onto say they themselves have two sources who have heard that the project is in the works. They also admit they have little else to go on other than some motion capture taking place at a Ubisoft Toronto studio.

Given that studio has been used by other projects like Watch Dogs 2, the source says he can't say which of Ubisoft's major teams is taking the lead on this new Splinter Cell.

The Splinter Cell series has had a shaky history since the high of 2005 classic Chaos Theory, with subsequent games offering new spins and different takes on the series in terms of gameplay and story. A return to the pure-stealth of the original three games would be welcomed by fans, but it's unlikely Ubisoft will develop a straight-forward sequel to those games.

With Ubisoft still planning a Splinter Cell film adaptation starring Tom Hardy, it was unlikely that they would simply abandon the series after recent mixed fortunes. That big screen project has been in limbo for a while, but the success of November's high profile Assassin's Creed adaptation could help get things moving.

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