Splinter Cell 2020 or the internal title SCX will be a BIG part of UBI E3 2020.
The game started proper development around the end of 2015. The game was initially very similar to MGSV and in fact, took a lot of inspiration from it. SCX build 1, just to keep the timeline simple to follow, was VERY ROUGH, unfinished, gameplay driven, and open world. The game had 3 decently sized open areas to mess around in. Each area was roughly twice the size of The Division 1 -if I had to compare it to something in-house. One if I remember correctly was set somewhere in Southern Asia, was supposed to focus on some abandoned city, the other in Russia, and the third in South America. Alongside the three open-world area's there was also a hub area to roam in between missions (think Motherbase from MGSV.) There were also small areas set in New York City, Tokyo, and even on an Air Force One style plane (I think?) for one-off missions. The story was incomplete at the time of SCX 1.
SCX 2 saw downgrades to the size of the open-world areas, Russia, in particular, was shrunken significantly. The gameplay was more refined by this point. There was an ongoing debate as to how equipment and weapons should be handled throughout the game. The debate was between giving players like 90% of all equipment from the start, and let them experiment with all of the toys right away OR continue the system that SC: Blacklist had in where players would gradually obtain more and more equipment, each with higher and higher levels of upgrades. The story was still thin, but had enough meat to help other departments create content for it.
SCX 3 saw the biggest changes to the game. Almost completely scrapping the open-world concept as the teams thought it was too similar to what was and what will be put out by UBI. The only open-world area left is the hub area, which actually received a lot more love and attention during this build. Lots of fun little easter eggs and nods to other franchises hidden throughout the area. Instead of massive open worlds, the team decided to shift focus back to what the series had done before, small but incredibly detailed levels. The idea of "flashback" missions was discussed, levels from previous games would be redone and brought into this game. Either under the title of flashbacks or as simulations. The bank level from Chaos Theory, in particular, was one that was talked about at length.
I do not know much past SCX 3 besides that the open-world concept was never revisited. The way equipment upgrades worked in the game was still in the air. Flashbacks/Simulation missions were integrated but they weren't labeled as such anymore. They were just changed up a bit and rebranded as completely new missions, the support staff and Sam will both make comments on how they have "deja-vu" from those missions. The story was also completed and will be a "fitting yet crazy send-off."
To finish off I just want to say that yes, SCX is planned to be the FINAL Splinter Cell title with Sam as the main character. The team wanted to make SCX a love letter to all the fans that have stayed with them for the past dozen or so years. I was personally very worried for the next splinter cell game but after hearing this it made me excited for splinter cell again. Even if they revert back to an open world, I'm just happy that they are putting time and effort into Sam's final hurrah.
//I got all of this information from word of mouth, and that's all I want to say without causing any trouble.
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