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.

[10][11] 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.

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.

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.

"[25] In May 2019, Julian Gerighty, Ubisoft Creative Director, announced on his social media page that a game is currently 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.

[27] 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, along with an Assassin's Creed game.

The plot follows Sam Fisher as he investigates a terrorist group called "The Shadows" and a related arms-dealing organization named "The Shop".

[34] 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.

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.

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.

[38] 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.

It was written by James Swallow and it features Sam Fisher's daughter, Sarah, working alongside her father and Isaac Briggs.

The plot involves Fisher working behind enemy lines in North Korea while his daughter searches for him all the while trying to expose the sinister scheme of the conspirators known as The Dragons.

The first game explains that "Splinter Cell" refers to an elite recon-type unit of single covert operatives (such as Sam Fisher) who are supported in the field by a high-tech remote team.

In the first three games (Splinter Cell, Pandora Tomorrow, Chaos Theory), terrorists are planning attacks, usually by use of information warfare, which Fisher, an operative for Third Echelon, a secret branch of the NSA, must prevent.

In the fourth game, Double Agent, Fisher assumes the identity of a wanted criminal in order to infiltrate a terrorist ring.

Having abandoned Third Echelon, Fisher discovers that the death of his daughter Sarah had not been an accident (as had been purported at the beginning of Double Agent), leading him to strike out on his own in search of those responsible, until his investigation uncovers a conspiracy within his old agency.

A new outfit, Fourth Echelon, is formed by the President and placed under the command of Fisher with the mission of stopping the 'Blacklist' attacks and the Engineers, the organization behind them.

The main recurring ones are: The encouraged way to progress through the games is to remain hidden, select non-obvious routes, and utilize diversions to pass guards.

The cooperative storylines in Chaos Theory and the sixth generation version of Double Agent parallel those of Fisher's actions in the single-player modes, letting players act on information he obtained or provide support in the field.

According to series producer Mathieu Ferland, the original game was developed so that Ubisoft's Montreal studio could demonstrate its full potential.

[2] Originally announced as a special feature on Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, a film adaptation for the series was confirmed to be in development, as early as 2005.

The company officially stated, "We want to keep ownership, retain control over the film content, and we're open to work with studios on the development of our projects, and eventually collaborate on the pre-casting, pre-budget and script.

[74] By November, it was announced that British actor Tom Hardy was cast as Sam Fisher,[75] while Eric Warren Singer was hired as screenwriter.

[80] By June that year, Liman stated that both he and Hardy were working on the film's script, which would focus on a young Sam Fisher, in his prime as opposed to the portrayal of a seasoned spy in the video games.

[86] In late July 2020, streaming service company Netflix announced that an anime series adaptation is in the works from Ubisoft Film & Television.

John Wick writer Derek Kolstad will be serving as executive producer on the series,[87] while the animation will be created by Sun Creature Studio and Fost.

[90] Other actors include Mihai Arsene, Olga Fedori, Rina Mahoney, Roger Ringrose, Riad Richie, David Hounslow, Tijan Sarr, Tom Kiteley, Joe Belham, Ali Gadema, Lloyd Thomas, and Charis Jardim-Hinds.