E3 2017: Splinter Cell Blacklist Dev Announces Starlink: Battle for Atlas

Ubisoft Toronto, developer of Splinter Cell Blacklist, has announced its new game, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, which is aiming for a fall 2018 launch on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. It's available for preorder now.

Revealed during the Ubisoft press conference, Starlink incorporates a toys-to-life structure, with a modular ship and its pilot attaching atop the player’s controller. Pieces can be added to or taken off the base ship model, instantly altering the in0game version, while players can choose to play as different pilots based on the figure attached to their controller.

The game follows a group of pilots who have travelled to the Atlas Star System, and will see players controlling their ship from a third-person perspective both in outer space and on the surface of planets. Aerial dogfights will occur in space, while players will battle with a variety of terrestrial enemies when near a planet’s surface.

 Speaking to press ahead of the reveal, Ubisoft Toronto declined to comment the release plan for the modular ships and their parts. Producer Matt Rose said the idea was born of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot giving the team a directive of combining technology and gameplay to create something new. Starlink originally began with a 10-person team prototyping within Ubisoft Toronto.