Ubisoft and Netflix have partnered to develop a Splinter Cell anime with John Wick creator Derek Kolstad as writer and executive producer, a representative for Ubisoft has confirmed to Kotaku.
According to earlier reporting by Variety, the Splinter Cell anime has already received a two-season, 16-episode order from Netflix. In speaking to Kotaku, Ubisoft would not divulge which, if any, Japanese studios have been enlisted to produce the show.
Splinter Cell debuted in 2002 as part of Ubisoft’s licensing deal with author Tom Clancy. Players were immediately smitten with its intricate stealth gameplay, prompting consistent sequels until the series took a hiatus with the most recent installment, 2013’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist. A film adaptation was in the works as recently as 2017, with Tom Hardy as Splinter Cell protagonist Sam Fisher and John Wick producer Basil Iwanyk in a leadership role, but news on that front has been scarce.
It’s no secret that Splinter Cell has gotten the short end of the stick lately. As far as Ubisoft properties go, it hangs around the level of something like Prince of Persia, which itself has been relegated to VR escape rooms rather than full-blown video games. The presence of several Splinter Cell cameos and references in other Ubisoft games indicates that the developer hasn’t forgotten about Sam Fisher, but I would be surprised if hardcore fans are going to be entirely satisfied by a Netflix show.