Is difficulty holding back Splinter Cell popularity?

The Splinter Cell franchise doesn’t have the wide reaching appeal of other Ubisoft games. Where franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry appeal to a broad base of gamers, Ubisoft’s Jade Raymond suggests that it’s the game’s difficulty that is holding it back.

In a recent interview with Eurogamer, the Ubisoft Toronto studio head explained her theory on why this franchises hasn’t seen the growth that its stablemates have.

“One of the things things that held it back is despite all of the changes that have happened over the years, it’s still one of the more complex and difficult games to play,” explained Raymond who compares Splinter Cell to other games that utilize stealth as a gameplay mechanic.

“When you play any other game that has stealth elements, they’re all a lot more forgiving than Splinter Cell. I guess Splinter Cell stayed with the most pure approach to that stealth experience… Splinter Cell still really is a thinking game. It’s really about being intelligent and taking that time in the first phase to plan out how you’re doing to do things, and understanding the elements, and even planning your gadgets and you load-out and being smart about it.”

The most recent footage that Ubisoft released from the game showcase the multiple ways to play Splinter Cell: Blacklist.