Report: Early Splinter Cell Remake Screenshots Unearthed, Revealing Environments and Easter Eggs
Eager for more remakes? Well, Ubisoft has you covered, unless you’re a Prince of Persia fan. The French publisher has been pushing hard on new takes of classics, like the recent Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced and the upcoming Rayman Legends Retold, but another project looming on the horizon is the awaited return of the Splinter Cell series.
A remake of the 2002 action-espionage classic was announced in 2021 and followed by updates featuring concept art, with assurances that the core experience would remain intact. Unfortunately, Ubisoft has since gone worryingly quiet, and recent insider reports claim the project’s development is currently in a “fragile” state.
All of this info might seem discouraging to fans of the franchise, but if you at least want to scratch the itch to take a look at what Ubisoft Toronto has been cooking, these newly found screenshots are where you should look. We should warn you though: don’t expect anything mind-blowing.
Early Look at Tbilisi in Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Remake
The following materials originate from the portfolio of someone who worked on this title. While we will refrain from sharing their identity, we can confirm the images date back to at least 2024.
As mentioned, they don’t offer anything spectacular, but they showcase environments and assets we are bound to see in the game, specifically from the initial segments of the story set in Georgia. Those who played the original will likely remember this setting from the opening mission, where Sam Fisher is sent to the Georgian capital to investigate the disappearance of two CIA agents.
The pictures highlight assets intended to populate the streets of Tbilisi, including detailed environments such as a sunlit back-alley courtyard filled with graffiti and urban clutter, as well as a local storefront for traditional Georgian food. We can also spot some torn flyers dated 2004, when the events of the plot take place. Amusingly, because the OG game debuted in 2002, its setting was considered the ‘near future’ back then.
Among these flyers, we can see a piece of political propaganda urging citizens to vote for “Nikoladze,” alongside the messages “No more corruption!” and “Police reform now!”. If you are familiar with the story, you might already know that these messages are ironic, since the illustration offers our first look at dictator Kombayn Nikoladze, the corrupt president of Georgia and main villain of the game.
Considering this is early background work, it’s worth keeping in mind that it most likely won’t represent the character’s final look, especially since the illustration depicts him with a younger appearance.
We also find lots of news pages filled with Georgian text, though mostly consisting of placeholder elements, while a few offer genuine references to the city’s tense political climate. My favorite part of these pictures comes from a particular background asset that hides a fun little easter egg. It features a handwritten note in Russian that roughly translates as follows:
While witty jokes like this offer a fun glimpse into the studio’s culture, the reality surrounding Ubisoft Toronto has been more complex recently. Just earlier this year, a round of layoffs at the studio saw 40 roles eliminated, but a Ubisoft spokesperson later stated that development on the Splinter Cell remake would remain unaffected by the cuts.
Another update in December 2025 saw the return of original director David Grivel to lead the project after having previously departed the company in 2022.
Even though these portfolio assets provide a fascinating look at the early groundwork aimed at reviving the classic action-espionage title, it is probable that not everything will make it into the final product. Still, the materials seen here demonstrate a clear effort by the design team to pay faithful homage to the 2002 original while expanding the worldbuilding with small details.
With insider rumors suggesting a tentative release window slated for 2027, fans of Sam Fisher still have quite a wait ahead. Even so, the wider Tom Clancy franchise remains prosperous within Ubisoft, evident in a slate of upcoming projects like The Division 3 and the recently revealed Rainbow Six Tactics.
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