A Ubisoft leaker has revealed screenshots from a new PvP game that combines characters from Splinter Cell, The Division, and Ghost Recon Breakpoint. While many enthusiasts are on the hunt for news about new games since E3 is just days away, there are a good number of Splinter Cell fans who may take this news as cold comfort. Sam Fisher’s solo adventures stalled out with Splinter Cell: Blacklist in 2013, and fans have been clamoring for a return to the franchise for quite some time. This is despite Ubisoft placing Sam Fisher into several other Tom Clancy titles, including as a playable character in Rainbow Six Siege and as a mission giver in Ghost Recon: Wildlands.
On the other side of the coin, Ubisoft has a heavy investment in the future of The Division, a looter shooter that has seen two mainline releases so far. Earlier this year, the publisher announced plans to expand the game’s universe with a free-to-play title called The Division Heartland. Ubisoft also posted a timeline that features the currently-in-production Netflix film, a novel based on the franchise, and an expansion onto mobile platforms. What that timeline didn’t include is “The Division Battlecat,” the internal codename for a PvP game that could expand The Division even further.
Screenshots posted online late Sunday by @Zer0Bytes0 on Twitter seemingly reveal BattleCat, a multiplayer mashup with factions taken from many of Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy properties. Sam Fisher’s distinctive green goggles indicate that he alongside The Echelon against the Outcasts and The Cleaners from The Division and the villainous Wolves from Breakpoint. The other screenshots point to at least two distinctive game modes and the concept of ultimate moves that are tied into a player’s faction. @Zer0Bytes0 claims that BattleCat has been testing since January, which could mean that it’s far enough in development for an E3 reveal this week.
While the existence of The Division: BattleCat may be considered a rumor at best until there is some sort of official confirmation, players do know that Ubisoft has several things to show during the Ubisoft Forward live stream later this week. The publisher has promised updates on Far Cry 6, Riders Republic, and the game formally known as Rainbow Six Quarantine, among others. Ubisoft also promises surprise titles, which could include the leaked Tom Clancy crossover multiplayer game. Considering how close it is to June 12’s live stream, it would seem likely that the game shows up at the show if it is actually in production.
Players will need to wait for Ubisoft‘s official confirmation to see if The Division: BattleCat is actually a new multiplayer title from the publisher or some sort of Internet hoax. The Internet does host some outlandish rumors every year around E3, but Ubisoft putting Sam Fisher into yet another multiplayer game rather than a single-player adventure matches up with the publisher’s recent behavior. Of course, that predictability could just as easily be evidence that this is all just the work of someone with a copy of Photoshop and some free time. Until Ubisoft Forward, there’s no way of knowing for sure.
