The creative director of two Splinter Cell games is returning to Ubisoft after spending several months at Fortnite developer Epic Games. The Splinter Cell series has been completely missing from this console generation, but the return of such an important developer could mean that a new game is being planned for PS5 and Xbox Series X.
A report by Video Games Chronicle confirms that Maxime Beland, the creative director of two Splinter Cell games, Splinter Cell: Conviction and Splinter Cell: Blacklist, will come back to Ubisoft to be a part of the new editorial team. Beland had left Ubisoft in 2019 after 20 years at the company, before joining Epic Games where he has spent eight months as the creative director of the company.
Ubisoft will likely be delighted that Beland is back under its roof. The company has confirmed that the Ubisoft editorial team would be changed so that it could make sure that its new games feel different enough from older releases. The sales of The Division 2 and Ghost Recon: Breakpoint were below expectations and Ubisoft feels that this is because of the sameness of these games. Changing the editorial team and bringing back Beland, who worked on several hugely popular Ubisoft titles, will help the company with that plan.
Splinter Cell fans will also hope that Beland's return means that it's now more likely that a new game in the series will be developed. Officially, Ubisoft is working on new types of Splinter Cell experiences. There is a rumored Splinter Cell VR game that hasn't been officially announced and Sam Fisher is also featured in Tom Clancy's Elite Squad, the mobile game that Ubisoft announced at E3 2019. However, what fans really want is a main Splinter Cell series entry.
Sources speaking in the middle of 2019 said that Ubisoft isn't working on a new main Splinter Cell game, something which was hugely disappointing to the series' fans. It's unclear why Ubisoft isn't making a new Splinter Cell when so many fans seem to be asking for a game. Beland made the last main Splinter Cell game though and the creative director could have some suggestions for making whatever comes next in the series.
Source: Video Games Chronicle