Ubisoft Toronto is working on a remake of Splinter Cell

Ubisoft took the unusual step today of announcing a very-early-in-production remake of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell--the first game in the beloved espionage stealth series that hasn't had a new entry since 2013. 

We say this is an "unusual" step because Ubisoft doesn't often formally announce games this early in production (the exception might be its Star Wars game being developed at Ubisoft Massive). The Splinter Cell series also struggled in sales as time went on, meaning any remake has to be scoped for an audience of the right size. 

If you're looking for any motivation for why Ubisoft is taking this approach on relaunching the series--recruitment might be the name of the game. Its blog post announcing the remake includes a direct pitch for developers to apply to the studio--one of several that have been struggling to retain talent during the economic shifts of the last year. 

(Its announcement image also included the words "now hiring" on it.)

"We want to invite anyone who’s intrigued by what we’ve said to apply to join Ubisoft Toronto," wrote technical producer Peter Handrinos. "We’re building a new team, the same way we did when we started the studio. There are technical leadership openings and roles across all different job families available."

Ubisoft has also struggled to retain talent while grappling with accusations of systemic sexual harassment and toxicity at the company. 

Handrinos did note that this game won't be only comprised of new developers--a number of Ubisoft veterans will be part of the project too.