It has been revealed that Tom Clancy has passed away in a Baltimore hospital, aged 66. Famous to millions for books such as The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and The Sum of All Fears, gamers will know him better via titles such as Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell.
Clancy co-founded games studio Red Storm in 1996. Ubisoft purchased the studio in 2000, and since then it has leveraged Clancy's name with a wide range of high-profile titles, including HAWX, EndWar, Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars and several new entries in the Splinter Cell franchise — including Splinter Cell: Blacklist, which launched on Wii U recently. The next game to be published with Clancy's name on the cover is The Division.
Ubisoft has released the following statement:
We are saddened to learn of Tom Clancy's passing and our condolences go out to his family. Tom Clancy was an extraordinary author with a gift for creating detailed, engrossing fictional stories that captivated audiences around the world. The teams at Ubisoft, especially at the Red Storm studio, are incredibly grateful to have collaborated with and learned from him, and we are humbled by the opportunity to carry on part of his legacy through our properties that bear his name.
Although Clancy's involvement with the games that bear his name was probably very slight, they were all infused with his spirit and he will be greatly missed — not just by gamers, but by readers and movie-goers alike.
What's your favourite Clancy title? Let us know by leaving a comment — and posting your own tribute — below.
Comments 18
RIP
I wish all of his family a good future ahead. R.I.P Mr. Clancy.
R.I.P.
RIP Tom Clancy
That was unexpected...
Heck of a writer, my condolences to those who are close to him. If you're of the younger set and have never read his books or seen any of his movies, you can't go wrong with just about anything from the Jack Ryan series in the 90s.
my frend told me last night 8( R.I.P. - i only liked Splinter Cell tbh but he had a talent that's not deniable.
A great writer. Shame he died so young. Without Clancy I would never have had one of my favourite games of all time: Rainbow Six.
I read many of his books when I was younger. Played the original Rainbow Six, its sequel Rogue Spear, and still play Rainbow Six 3 to this day (just last weekend, in fact).
Unfortunately, after R6:3 the influence of Ubisoft turned the Rainbow Six series into a shadow of its former self. From R6:Vegas onwards the game was just a formulaic action shooter.
The studio that Clancy co-founded, Red Storm, did a brilliant job of taking his Rainbow Six book and making it into a strategic and tactical shooter.
Some people even played the game by spending ages in the planning phase of the mission, and then sit back and watch the AI execute a well-prepared plan.
There hasn't been another game like it.
I never read any of his books (I have The Hunt For Red October - might give that a read sometime) but I used to own Splinter Cell on original Xbox.
I really want to play the original on N64/PS1 and want to give Splinter Cell a go on GC. Clancy will be missed. RIP.
I've read some of his books, and I have Splinter Cell 3D. I heard about this yesterday and just couldn't believe it at first. The gaming industry's lost some great people recently. Rest in peace Mr. Clancy.
He saw the video game industry was slowly transforming his original image of Splinter Cell from an espionage stealth series into an action shooter series and passed away.
R.I.P, on a side note cannot wait for the Division...
RIP, 66 is a young age to die at too. I haven't played that many of his games, but my favorite would be Spilnter Cell: Pandora Tommorow.
Sorry to his family and friends, but I wont miss his repetitive books.
@Kifa All deaths are unexpected.
RIP
Vince Flinn died at a young[er] age recently as well. We are loosing our great war fiction novelists!
RIP, Mr. Clancy.
@Pichuka97
There isn't an N64/PS1 Splinter Cell. Unless you're talking about Rainbow Six, which isn't the same thing at all. Splinter Cell didn't come around until the GC/PS2 era.
Tap here to load 18 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...