Ubisoft Revives Splinter Cell with New Steam Achievements for 12-Year-Old Game

Good news for fans of Sam Fisher: Ubisoft has not forgotten about the Splinter Cell series. The developer recently added Steam Achievements to the 2013 title, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, signaling that the franchise is still on their radar.

The last significant update on the Splinter Cell Remake was in 2022, when IGN had the opportunity to discuss the design philosophy behind the game with Ubisoft Toronto developers. However, overnight, Ubisoft quietly updated the achievement list for the now 12-year-old Blacklist on Steam.

Ubisoft announced, "Agents, we are pleased to announce that Steam Achievements are now available for Splinter Cell: Blacklist!"

In a thoughtful move, Ubisoft decided to add achievements that can be "retrospectively earned," but chose not to include the additional 19 online achievements available on consoles. This ensures players can still achieve 100% completion on Steam.

The stealth-action series is poised to make a comeback with the Splinter Cell Remake, a fresh take on the classic first game in the franchise. Although details are sparse, we know that the new version will be built from the ground up using the advanced Snowdrop engine.

“20 years later, we can look back at the plot, the characters, the overall story of the game [and] make some improvements — things that might not have aged particularly well,” said creative director Chris Auty at the time. “But the core of the story, the core of the experience will remain as it was in the original game.”

Last month, Ubisoft made headlines by creating a subsidiary company based on its Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six brands, backed by a €1.16 billion (approx. $1.25 billion) investment from Chinese megacorp Tencent.

This news followed Ubisoft's announcement that Assassin's Creed Shadows had surpassed the 3 million player mark. The company has faced significant challenges, including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to Shadows' release. With Ubisoft's share price at an historic low, there is immense pressure on Shadows to succeed.