Facebook has reportedly signed a deal to create exclusive VR games for Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell franchises. According to a report from The Information, the social media platform is looking to develop games attached to the series in an attempt to encourage sales of its Oculus Rift headsets.
The Information’s report is behind a subscription, but The Game Awards’ Geoff Keighley tweeted a screengrab of the opening of the article, which you can check out further down this article. The article says that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is personally involved in the acquisition, and that the deals are already signed.
The purpose of the purchase is said to be to attract more users to VR. Facebook purchased Oculus, the developer of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset in 2014, but competition from companies like Valve and HTC, as well as generally muted adoption of VR, means that sales have only been moderately successful. Facebook reportedly hopes to encourage new users by exclusively attaching popular franchises to its headset.
If true, the report is another kick in the teeth for fans of Splinter Cell. Ubisoft has repeatedly hinted that Sam Fisher might be up to something new, but the super-spy saw next to no action at E3 2019, appearing on stage as part of the roster of multiplayer mobile game Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad.
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A VR title that’s exclusive to a specific headset is unlikely to capture the community’s broader imagination.
Sam Fisher returns? @theinformation is reporting that Facebook has signed exclusive deals for @oculus VR games based on Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell. pic.twitter.com/DDLdL8LpHE
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) July 10, 2019
Neither Ubisoft nor Oculus provided comment on the potential partnership. As such, assuming these games are in development, there’s no word on when players might get their hands on them – the long wait for a new Splinter Cell game continues.