Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is a series of action-adventure games, the first of which was released in 2002, and their tie-in novels that were endorsed by Tom Clancy. The series follows Sam Fisher, a highly trained agent of a fictional black-ops sub-division within the NSA, dubbed "Third Echelon", as he overcomes his adversaries. The games emphasize light and darkness as gameplay elements.
There have been six main games in the series: Splinter Cell (2002), Pandora Tomorrow (2004), Chaos Theory (2005), Double Agent (2006), Conviction (2010) and Blacklist (2013). Additionally, Essentials, a PlayStation Portable exclusive, was released in 2006 and Classic Trilogy HD, a remastered compilation of the first three games, was released for the PlayStation 3 in 2011. A remake of the first game is in development. Nine tie-in novels have been released. An eight-episode audio drama, Splinter Cell: Firewall, debuted in December 2022 and an animated series, Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, premiered on Netflix in October 2025.
The series has been positively received, and was once considered to be one of Ubisoft's flagship franchises. The series had sold 19 million units by 2008 and 32 million by 2016.
Games
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (2002)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell was developed over a period of two years and developed by Ubisoft Montreal with original publishing by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox as an exclusive title. Later in 2003, Ubisoft ported the game to Microsoft Windows, Mac, PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance. Inspired by the Metal Gear series, it uses an Unreal Engine 2 that was modified to allow light-and-dark based gameplay.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (2004)
Pandora Tomorrow was developed by Ubisoft Shanghai and Ubisoft Milan and introduced multiplayer gameplay to the series. In single-player mode, the game AI adapts to adjust to the player's skill level.S. Kazmi and I. J. Palmer, "Action Recognition for Support of Adaptive Gameplay: A Case Study of a First Person Shooter," International Journal of Computer Games Technology, vol. 2010, Article ID 536480, 14 pages, 2010. , online at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijcgt/2010/536480.html Unlike other games in the series, which generally lean towards information-based threats, the plot of Pandora Tomorrow focuses on biological warfare, in which an Indonesian terrorist group threatens to infect people with the smallpox virus. Fisher is also given new abilities like SWAT turns and whistling to attract enemies' attention. It also introduced a revolutionary new online mode called spies versus mercenaries, in which one team would play from a third person perspective on the spy team, and the more guns-blazing first-person perspective of the mercenaries.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005)
Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Milan were again responsible for the third game in the series, Chaos Theory. It adds a cooperative multiplayer mode. Originally announced to be released in Fall 2004, its initial releases were made at the end of March 2005. The Unreal Engine was heavily modified, this time from version 2.5. The game includes a number of new features, including adding a combat knife to the player's inventory. Maps are also more open with multiple ways of achieving the end goal.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Essentials (2006)
Essentials extends the Splinter Cell series to the PlayStation Portable. Through a series of flashback missions, the player learns more about Fisher's backstory. The game was less positively received critically than previous installments, with criticism aimed at the control mechanics and the multiplayer mode.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (2006)
For the series' fourth installment, Double Agent, two separate versions were created, one for generation six consoles and the Wii, and the other for Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, and PlayStation 3. Double Agent features a "trust system" that presents the player with moral dilemmas. It is the first game in the series with a hub-like area, where Sam can explore and do objectives between missions. This is also the only game in the series to have different endings based on player decisions, but only one ending is considered canon.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (2010)
Conviction was officially announced on May 23, 2007, when Ubisoft released a trailer for the game. The game was due for release on November 16, 2007. However, the game missed its initial launch date, and on May 19, 2008, it was reported that Conviction was "officially on hold" and that the game had been taken "back to the drawing board". Ubisoft announced that the game had been pushed back to the 2009–10 fiscal year. At E3 2009, the developers confirmed that the "new" Conviction had been in development since early 2008, commenting that "the gameplay has evolved a lot" and "the visual direction is simply much better". The game's release date was pushed back several times. On March 18, 2010, the demo was released for Xbox 360. Ubisoft wanted to make the fifth game more accessible, so Conviction was designed around the new core elements "Mark and Execute" and "Last Known Position", while stealth elements present in the previous games were omitted, such as the ability to whistle, lock pick, and hide bodies. Conviction uses a cover system and adds simple interrogation sequences to the series.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Classic Trilogy HD (2011) In September 2011, a remastered compilation package was released for the PlayStation 3 that included the first three games in the series. The remastered versions are based on the PC ports of the originals. The compilation received "mixed or average" reviews on Metacritic.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist (2013)
Blacklist is the sixth installment in the series, developed by Ubisoft Toronto and was released on August 20, 2013. Blacklist boasts new features combining gameplay from Chaos Theory and Conviction. Series veteran Michael Ironside was replaced in his role as Sam Fisher by actor Eric Johnson. In the game, Fisher has been appointed as the commander of the new "Fourth Echelon", a clandestine unit that answers solely to the President of the United States. He has denied any existence of the agency and Fourth Echelon is working to stop a new terror plot, known as the 'Blacklist'. Fourth Echelon also has the secondary objective of stopping all operations in which Third Echelon is still running. Features returning include a moving "Mark and Execute", Fisher's signature goggles and a new knife, the Karambit, and the ability to perform "abduction" stealth melee takedowns.
Future At E3 2017 regarding Splinter Cell, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stated: "I can't say much about that. But, for sure, all the Clancy games are taken care of. It's just we have quite a lot on our plate at the moment...All the Clancy games are really coming along, so we are not forgetting Splinter Cell."
In May 2019, Julian Gerighty, Ubisoft Creative Director, announced on his social media page that a Splinter Cell game was in development. In his statement, he said he had been working on the game with Ubisoft Montreal creative director, Roman Campos-Oriola, and executive producer Dan Hay. However, Ubisoft later disputed this.
On 16 September 2020, it was announced at Facebook Connect that a virtual reality version of the series is coming exclusively to the Oculus VR platform. It was set to be developed by Red Storm Entertainment. On July 21, 2022, the game was cancelled.
In December 2021, Ubisoft revealed that they are developing a remake of the first game. In October 2022, David Grivel, the director of the game, left Ubisoft, and returned in December 2025 after a short tenure working on other titles.
Novels Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (2004) Splinter Cell is the first installment of a series of novels based on the video game series. It was written by Raymond Benson under the pseudonym David Michaels. The plot follows Sam Fisher as he investigates a terrorist group called "The Shadows" and a related arms-dealing organization named "The Shop". Members of "The Shop" use inside information to attempt to kill "Third Echelon" members, including Fisher. Shortly after its publication in December 2004, it spent three weeks on the New York Times list of bestsellers. It also made it to the list of Wall Street Journal mass-market paperback bestsellers.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Operation Barracuda (2005) In Operation Barracuda, which was released on November 1, 2005, Raymond Benson (again as David Michaels) continues the story of the first Splinter Cell novel. The book was also featured on the New York Times bestseller list.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Checkmate (2006) For Checkmate, Grant Blackwood took over as author behind the David Michaels pseudonym, Benson having declared that he was "finished with Splinter Cell". Unlike the first two books, Checkmate is not written from the first person perspective of Fisher, nor does Checkmate continue the running subplots that were established in the previous book. This novel was released on November 7, 2006.
The book begins with a ship by the name of Trego sailing towards the American East Coast. Sam Fisher is called in from a training mission to disable the ship. After Fisher stops the ship from irradiating the American West Coast with nuclear waste, he is informed that a town by the name of Slipstone has been attacked with a radiological weapon and over 5,000 people are dead. These events lead Fisher to Ukraine, Iran, Dubai, and Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Fallout (2007) On November 6, 2007, Fallout, was published, Blackwood's second Splinter Cell novel and the fourth in the series. Like the previous novel, it was written by Grant Blackwood, under the pseudonym David Michaels. The story follows Sam Fisher as he combats Islamic fundamentalists who have taken over the government of Kyrgyzstan.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (2009) Conviction is the tie-in novel to the game with the same name. It was published on November 3, 2009, and was written by Peter Telep under the name David Michaels. It was published by Berkley Books, under Penguin Group. The book follows Sam Fisher after the killing of Lambert. Fisher is on the run and has "gone rogue," as he is believed to be a treasonous agent. He is chased by a team of rookie Splinter Cells led by Ben Hansen.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Endgame (2009) Endgame, published on December 1, 2009, is the counterpart to the Conviction novel. The plot runs parallel to the Conviction novel, but from the point of view of Fisher's antagonists. The story is told from the perspective of Ben Hansen and the rest of the team pursuing Fisher.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist: Aftermath (2013) Published in October 2013, this tie-in novel takes place after the events of the video game Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist. It involves Fisher and Fourth Echelon finding and rescuing a Russian billionaire who disobeyed orders from the Kremlin to release a computer virus against the United States. Aftermath is written by Peter Telep and the first in the series to be authored without the use of the David Michaels pseudonym.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Firewall (2022) Firewall was released on March 1 for Kindle and on March 15 for paperback. It was written by James Swallow and features Sam Fisher's daughter, Sarah, working alongside her father. The plot involves Fisher dealing with a cyberwarfare technology known as "Gordian Sword" which is capable of defeating any firewall and will be auctioned to the highest bidder regardless of their motives for using it. Fisher must stop the technology being used or sold before it falls into the hands of terrorists, criminals, or rogue states. The book won the Scribe Award for Best Original Novel.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Dragonfire (2023)