Following the report that Ubisoft is looking to overhaul its editorial team to change the company's course of creative direction, it has now been revealed that one former Ubisoft director is now going to rejoin the publisher as a member of this editorial board.

According to a report from VGC, former Splinter Cell creative director Maxime Beland is set to return to Ubisoft after previously departing the company to work at Epic Games. Beland, who had only just left Ubisoft last year in 2019, has worked on a variety of Ubisoft properties throughout his tenure at the company including Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six: Vegas. Perhaps most notably, Beland also served as the creative director of the two most recent Splinter Cell entries in Conviction and Blacklist.

Obviously, because Beland is returning to Ubisoft, it raises questions about the future of the Splinter Cell franchise, as well. As of this writing, a new entry in the series has yet to be announced as in development, mainly because Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has stated that some developers at the company are a bit nervous to work on the franchise. While Beland seemingly won't be directing games anymore in his new role and will instead serve as more of a guide, maybe his mere presence will make developers at the company more willing to return to the series.

If Sam Fisher does make a return in the future, it seems like our best bet at this point is to see a new installment come about on next-generation hardware. Unless we get a surprise announcement from Ubisoft later this year (which doesn't seem possible at all), a new Splinter Cell game for modern platforms looks to be out of the question. We'll just have to keep our fingers crossed that sooner rather than later, Ubisoft does opt to finally give us what we've been asking to receive for so long.