Splinter Cell: Blacklist Creative Director Maxime Béland has told VideoGamer.com that his upcoming release is tackling ideas very similar to that of some next-generation titles.

"I'm looking at what next-gen is doing and I'm like 'Hey, we're doing it already!" Béland explained. "I think one of the next-gen thinkings, I guess, is always on, connectivity with your friends and we're doing that - we're blurring those lines.

"In Blacklist when you're using the [Strategic Mission Interface] a dot on the map can be a co-op mission, it can be a single-player mission, it can be a friend playing Spies vs. Mercs, a friend playing co-op alone who you can click and join and that's the idea. Joining anything is done in the same way."

As games like Titanfall and Ubisoft developed titles such as Watch Dogs and The Crew attempt to achieve persistent, connected worlds the familiarities are there to see. Whether Blacklist can pull this off successfully is a question only time can answer, although our recent time with the game seems to suggest it's making a reasonable attempt at it.