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Splinter Cell is back... as an 8-part BBC Radio 4 drama

In an odd move, Ubisoft has teamed up with BBC Radio 4 to flesh out the world of Splinter Cell a little bit more.

Are you waiting impatiently for the upcoming Splinter Cell remake? You know, the one that's apparently being rewritten for a modern day audience and that recently lost its director (who had 11 years' experience at Ubisoft)? Well, if the wait is unbearably hard, then we've got some good news for you: Splinter Cell is back – in BBC Radio 4 drama form!

Yes, it is odd. Per a release from the BBC, the radio drama follows veteran Fourth Echelon agent Sam Fisher on a new mission, where he'll be "recruiting and training the next generation of Splinter Cell operatives for the National Security Agency's covert action division."

"When a lethal assassin from Fisher's past returns from the dead on a mission of murder, he is thrust into a race against time as a sinister threat to global security is revealed."

If you're a BBC Radio 4 regular, you'll recognise the dulcent tones of the actor playing Sam Fisher – everyone's favourite wetwork operative is played by Andonis Anthony, known for his role in BBC Radio's The Archers. Per the Beeb, you can also expect to hear the talents of Daisy Head, Rosalie Craig, Sacha Dhawan, Nikesh Patel, and Will Poulter.

There's a lot of BBC talent in the show; the whole thing has been written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz and Paul Cornell, the latter of whom has writing credits on Doctor Who, Holby City and Casualty.

The whole thing is due to kick off on Friday, December 2 at 2:15pm (GMT). All eight episodes will go live at the same time, and will be available to listen to on the BBC Sounds app.

This is a nice preamble to the highly-anticipated Splinter Cell remake, which was first announced last year, and is being developed by Ubisoft Toronto (most recently in charge of Far Cry 6). Other than Ubi saying 'yes, it's real', we don't know too much about the project – though it's likely still a way out: producer Matt West said the game is "very early in development" back in 2021.

But at least you've got a radio show to help you with the wait.

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Splinter Cell

Nintendo GBA, Nintendo GameCube, PS2, Xbox, PC

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Dom Peppiatt avatar

Dom Peppiatt

Editor-in-chief

Dom is a veteran video games critic with 11 years' experience in the games industry. A published author and consultant that has written for NME, Red Bull, Samsung, Xsolla, Daily Star, GamesRadar, Tech Radar, and many more. They also have a column about games and music at The Guardian.

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