It is likely that significant parts of the game were playable in alpha form by the end of 2001, though this is entirely unknown. Actual level design did not begin in earnest until around August 2001, as evidenced by the hiring dates of several of the level designers. This is backed up by Bobrov referring to the mercenaries as 'Azeris' in Shipyard, and consequently Vselka Infiltration.Īudio and voice recording did not begin until around March 2001, judging by the hiring date of Fabien Noël, the game's lead audio designer. However, after the September 11th attacks, this was changed, as Ubisoft felt Azerbaijan could've been interpreted by some as a middle-eastern country. According to Retro Gamer Magazine, the game's plot was originally to portray Azerbaijan as the enemy, rather than Georgia.

Its early working title was Tom Clancy's Third Echelon, and this title can still be found in core configuration files for the game. The development of Splinter Cell as we know it began at some point in late 2000, though pre-production of the game is poorly documented. In 1998 or 1999, pre-production began on a new game called The Drift, and although this concept failed, many ideas from it evolved into core facets of Splinter Cell. Splinter Cell was first launched on November 17, 2002, as an Xbox exclusive.

Splinter cell ps2