Ubisoft dropped this bombshell on Gamescom?? A Splinter Cell animated series in the vein of TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL: DEATHWATCH is set to debut on the 14th of October! The best part? The writer of John Wick is behind this! Liev Schreiber himself lends his voice to Sam Fisher, and the ever-so-talented Kirby Howell-Baptiste is onboard for this one. But those celebrations…? Those never even happened, by the Gamers.

Just after the announcement, the replies section here exploded with people asking the same question again and again: WHERE IS THE ACTUAL GAME???

Just scroll through the comments and you’ll find waves of frustration. One user named @RetroPyroGaming put it perfectly: “More than a decade of waiting for a new Splinter Cell game….at GAMESCOM we get a damn TV show instead of a game. You’re absolutely lost as a company.” Oof!

The guy isn’t alone, @Misantroph66896 actually replied with “WHERE IS THE NEW GAME?” followed by a crying emoji. @JohnVaki21 said “How about a game? Otherwise noone cares…” which is quite harsh but somewhat understandable.

Here comes the husband of the whole Michael Ironside drama. The original voice of Sam Fisher is not involved in this animated series, and people are NOT happy about it. @L8RSTORM specifically said, “you better not use ai voice of Michael Ironside,” which would be terrible if they did go there. But apparently, according to @BastienZior, Ironside was offered and declined the role? Which is his choice, obviously, but still… it’s not the same without that iconic voice.

There are those trying to change the tide: @reS_fps said, “I hope this is good!” And @sargonofarmina noticed, “Fisher looks so badass with his beard grown out.” So there’s that.

The mood is just… big disappointment. @NotSated sums it up: “sigh. i’ll take it but.. man.” Like okay fine, we’ll watch your cartoon, but since Blacklist in 2013, we’ve been actually waiting for this real game. Ten-plus years ago, mind you!

Then, there is all about the remake which was annunciated about a while ago that @cbw86 wonders about specifically: “Where is the remake? Does it have Chaos Theory’s Closer-Than-Ever control, animation and dynamic camera?” Those are very valid questions! Ubisoft announced remaking the first Splinter Cell two years ago and has since kept quiet.

And of course… the whole… visual style of the animated series. @ghostly_remains didn’t hold back: “This looks fucking awful 😭😭😭😭,” while @GeraltRUS outright asked, “Why this cartoon looks like shit?” So apparently, the animation style isn’t doing it for everybody either.

Some players are making practical demands for themselves; @Musical1250 wondered if they could add Splinter Cell games to the Xbox cloud’s “Stream Your Own Games” section, which sounds very practical. And @CristianoRea suggested, “Do a Splinter Cell trilogy Port for current gen console, genius,” with a thinking face emoji. So at least that ought to mean something!

Possibly the weirdest reply is from @Iamaloiiii, asking “when do you think were gonna get a rayman game where the sidekick eats too many enchiladas and raises a farm,” which is like… what? But honestly, at this point, why not? Ubisoft is kind of disorganized at the moment.

This creates a whole side conversation over whether we even WANT a new Splinter Cell game from modern Ubisoft. @FolkPunkPirate responded to somebody: “Brother I hate to tell you what you do or don’t want. But trust me, at this point you don’t want it. Ubisoft staying away from video games is best for everyone.” Which, if you really think about it, is… quite sad.

Then @VikingNineOne ranted about firing 90% of Ubisoft’s “WASTE!” and calling them “WOKE trash employees that refuse to deliver what the gamers want.” That’s quite a lot.

But most definitely, the one thing everybody agrees about: We love the animated series and everything but we want a new Splinter Cell real game. Or something on the remake that was announced ¿ages ago? October 14th for Deathwatch, yeah, makes a great date, but… just not quite what people were dreaming of after all these years.

Maybe this animated series is great; the John Wick writer’s got to have something going for it! Liev Schreiber is pretty brilliant. Could this finally bring down the curtain on a game announcement? One can only hope. Probably, for now, the vibes are… sour after more than 10 years of wait; the animated series feels like one could have asked for a main course after being served a side dish.

Wait, where was I? Oh yes – Splinter Cell animated series on October 14th. Go ahead and mark your calendars, I suppose. Well, maybe keep your expectations low. The hunger for an actual game is real, and with this one, the creators and developers are setting up a glaring spotlight on what is missing.