In brief: The award-winning Splinter Cell impacted many gamers, offering a unique stealth experience many have tried to emulate. Even so, Ubisoft hasn't launched a new entry in the franchise since Blacklist in 2013. That could be changing soon as rumors suggest a new open-world Splinter Cell game is in development.

The first Splinter Cell title dropped in 2002 for Xbox, PC, Mac, PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance. Ubisoft went on to launch multiple other entries in the franchise for traditional gaming platforms and mobile, but all came to a halt in 2013 when the publisher launched Splinter Cell: Blacklist. We still saw the occasional crossover in games like Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, but what fans really wanted was a new experience.

Rumors that the developer was making a new Splinter Cell have come and gone for a while. Ubisoft even stated the series would expand to Oculus through Red Storm Entertainment.

However, it looks like we will also get a more traditional installment which is already in development. This new game is supposedly similar to Assassin's Creed but more stealthy. In addition, it seems the new Splinter Cell will feature open-world elements, "similar to how Halo Infinite has done its open world." Considering most modern Ubisoft titles have an open world to explore, that's far from surprising.

Based on what was said about the new Splinter Cell, it's already starting to look like Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain. That might actually be a good thing, at least for those who liked the latest Metal Gear title (let's just ignore Metal Gear Survive). Still, we hope it only takes some cues while keeping the story theme of previous Splinter Cell games.

Besides the new Splinter Cell, we may also get a Splinter Cell anime, reportedly developed by Netflix. Who knows? Maybe we will get a simultaneous release of the two.