It's been four years since the release of the last game in the Splinter Cell series with no solid indications of what's next. E3 2017 came and went without any Splinter Cell-related announcements, but amidst all the noise, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot did provide some hope for fans.

First, during an AMA on Reddit, Guillemot responded to a question about Splinter Cell by saying, "Splinter Cell is a brand we talk about a lot. It's also personally one of my favorite series. We don't have anything specific to share at the moment but teams are working on different things, so stay tuned for more."

Subsequently, he was asked about those remarks in an interview with the Ubisoft blog. "We are receiving lots of sketches and proposals around the brand, and we're going to pick one up," he said. "I think you will be able to see something, but you will have to wait for that."

Guillemot said all of that with a smile, as if he couldn't wait to share more. If Ubisoft hasn't yet given a project the green light, as his remarks suggest, a new Splinter Cell could still be years away. That is, unless his words were actually intended to throw fans off so that they're surprised by an announcement. That's precisely what happened with Beyond Good and Evil 2, which creator Michel Ancel said would not be at E3 before it was prominently featured in Ubisoft's E3 press conference and was actually (sort of) playable.

The most recent Splinter Cell game was 2013's Blacklist, which replaced Michael Ironside, the longtime voice actor of series protagonist Sam Fisher. That game was released for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3, meaning the series has still yet to appear on current-gen consoles. Meanwhile, Blacklist developer Ubisoft Toronto has unveiled its new game, and a Splinter Cell movie remains in the works.