Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory®
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory®
Game
Game2013
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist
Developer Ubisoft Toronto
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist is a 2013 action-adventure stealth game developed by Ubisoft Toronto and published by Ubisoft. The game is the sequel to Splinter Cell: Conviction and the seventh installment of the Splinter Cell series. Players control Sam Fisher, a highly trained operative working for the Fourth Echelon, in a mission to stop the Engineers, a group of terrorists which is trying to coerce the… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
254 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
52
Mixed
129 positive · 117 negative
95% range 46–59%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 129 | 117 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 2 | 6 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
6,931 of 9,443 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
53% recommend · 126 yes, 110 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 236 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (17,102 of 21,772 positive).
Players widely report that the game crashes frequently but can be fixed with launch options. [1][2][3] Many praise the gameplay and stealth mechanics, calling it a great Splinter Cell title. [2][4][5] Some criticize Ubisoft for server shutdowns and required launcher, making parts unplayable. [6][7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [6]
1,400+ hours and Ubisoft turned this game into an empty shell. Spies vs Mercs is dead. Co-op barely exists anymore. Huge parts of the DLC and bonus content are inaccessible on PC because of the server shutdowns. A game built around multiplayer and progression now feels abandoned and incomplete. The campaign is still good, but buying this today means getting only a fraction of what Blacklist used to be. Ubisoft sold …
- [7]
I recommend SC Black List as a game but the thumbs down is for Ubisoft who are absolute scum sucking parasites. First SCBL stands as one of the last good stealth games. Its a lot of fun and marks also the last ever SC title. Same mechanics as Conviction but better overall in my opinion. Choas Theory remains the GOAT of course. list] You have to make this game work with fixes before you can play it without constant …
- [2]
this port has issues with crashing, but luckily you can put "-offline -offline_mode -nointro" in launch options and resolve it. i had crashes every 20-30min, but none after i used the above launch options. as far as the game goes, it's fantastic. still hold up in 2026. you can choose your own approach in each mission, aside from some scripted events. the story is a generic stop the bad guy, save the world plot, but …
- [4]
The last great splinter cell game; oh wait it was actually the last one 💀.. But seriously its an amazing game. Can't expect ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ to make a game like this in 2026, it was actually their last non-open world single player game which didn't had copy paste content for 100+ hrs........
- [1]
- Right click your Splinter Cell: Blacklist - go to Properties > Launch Options > Add: -offline -offline_mode - you're done. Enjoy the game in offline.
Summarised from 34 of the 246 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist talk about gameplay is fantastic and holds up well; those who didn't talk about game crashes every 20-30 minutes without fixes. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Although Joystiq's Mike Schramm praised Blacklist's early screenshots and videos for removing Conviction's monochromatic visuals, its new voice actor was not received well by most of fans. Ubisoft responded with a statement that Michael Ironside was not returning as Fisher because an actor "physically capable" of a motion-capture performance was needed, and Eric Johnson was hired for the role. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. The game's design was praised by most reviewers. Ryan McCaffrey of IGN praised the gameplay's variety and player options, which he thought made Blacklist the…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 254 · most liked firstanother Ubislop abandonware title to fix chronic crashing community fix by "Legion" -offline -offline_mode -nointro put that into launch options, game is fixed
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is good. Went to play the game again for the first time since it released and I forgot my password to ubisoft connect because why on earth do I need to log into something I havent touched in literally 13 years just to play a game, tried my three usual passwords + number combos and account got suspended from wrong PW input. Eventually just did the password reset through email and even though i reset my password using MY EMAIL, my account stays suspended and it won't let me play the game…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →1,400+ hours and Ubisoft turned this game into an empty shell. Spies vs Mercs is dead. Co-op barely exists anymore. Huge parts of the DLC and bonus content are inaccessible on PC because of the server shutdowns. A game built around multiplayer and progression now feels abandoned and incomplete. The campaign is still good, but buying this today means getting only a fraction of what Blacklist used to be. Ubisoft sold a premium stealth experience, then quietly erased half of it years later.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If anyone is tempted by nostalgia to buy this game, go to PCGamingWiki and download the Splinter Cell Blacklist Fusion Mod. At its current state on steam, Blacklist is essentially unplayable abandonware.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →- Right click your Splinter Cell: Blacklist - go to Properties > Launch Options > Add: -offline -offline_mode - you're done. Enjoy the game in offline.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →keeps crashing and requires constant internet connection to ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. this company needs to die
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After more then 13 years i tried to play Blacklist again and what did i get? Only a game that fights me every chance it gets and doesnt even want to start to begin with and crashes every 20-30 min + the old Blacklist server are all gone so all the old DLCs that i have for Blacklist are worthless since they dont work anymore.... wonderfull. Thanks Ubisoft for such a wonderfull reminder and the world will be a better place once you go out of buisness.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this port has issues with crashing, but luckily you can put "-offline -offline_mode -nointro" in launch options and resolve it. i had crashes every 20-30min, but none after i used the above launch options. as far as the game goes, it's fantastic. still hold up in 2026. you can choose your own approach in each mission, aside from some scripted events. the story is a generic stop the bad guy, save the world plot, but it done well and makes for good locations/set pieces. definitely check out…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →IMPORTANT SO IT WON'T CRASH: Go to game's properties on steam library and put this in the launch options so it won't crash: -offline -offline_mode --------------------------------------------------------------------- For some reason people don't bother to try to find fixes, all they do is put negative reviews for the most lame reasons, regardless if the developers have neglected it after they closed down the servers. There are guides for everything these days. Great underrated game, with…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I recommend SC Black List as a game but the thumbs down is for Ubisoft who are absolute scum sucking parasites. First SCBL stands as one of the last good stealth games. Its a lot of fun and marks also the last ever SC title. Same mechanics as Conviction but better overall in my opinion. Choas Theory remains the GOAT of course. list] You have to make this game work with fixes before you can play it without constant crashes. Ubi will make you log-in to their crappy launcher EVERY…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not Working they are literally selling you not playable product and somehow steam allows it
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ubisoft messed up the "link to ubisoft account" crap and I am locked out of the game. Also cannot refund the game. I have conviction and also have serious issues with it like being locked out the dlc I already purchased and used when it first released however many iterations of Call of duty ago. If you get it to work its not bad. I had it on ps3 and enjoyed it but wanted to give er the old mouse and keyboard treatment but ended up wasting money just so I can write this hopeless review of Ill…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is amazing, not like the other games please paste this into the launch options if you dont want it to crash every 20 minutes -offline -offline_mode
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Splinter Cell Blacklist is a great game. The stealth gameplay in this title is fun to master, and it is certainly very open to both lethal and non-lethal approaches. Story is fine, kinda Marvel-movie esque at times, but the gameplay I what I will commend the most. Dogs are annoying, as well as some of the quirks of each level for 100% stealth routes. I wish it would have went something more akin to Chaos Theory's atmosphere and tone instead of generic action media of the early 2010's, but even…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Would love to recommend, but it's unstable to the point of being unplayable. Took me a good while to get it to even launch, but then had constant CTDs, cursor flickering all over my screen, audio issues, and more.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For fix crash game: 1. Go to your Steam Library, right click on Blacklist and click "Properties..." 2. Under the "General" tab, there's a section called "Launch Options" 3. Copy and paste the following into it: -offline -offline_mode
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The last great splinter cell game; oh wait it was actually the last one 💀.. But seriously its an amazing game. Can't expect ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ to make a game like this in 2026, it was actually their last non-open world single player game which didn't had copy paste content for 100+ hrs........
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't make my mistake and try and do a side mission before doing the first tutorial mission, nearly made me bounce off the game. Having played and finished all the other Splinter Cells I stuck with it though and have to say i'm invested in the story. New voice actor for Sam is jarring at first but got used to it. Was having similar problems to other people with game crashing every forty minutes or so. The fix below works: 1. Go to your Steam Library, right click on Blacklist and click…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Peak game but fuh this ♥♥♥♥♥♥ Ubisoft launcher
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really loved this game when I was younger, but I can't recommend getting it. With dealing with ubisoft connect and having to set up specific things to even play the game and having certain features inaccessible makes the game disappointing. Can't even play Briggs campaign because that requires CO-OP and core of the game, on consoles atleast, was playing Split-Screen on the couch yelling at your friends to bot get caught.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →(June 24, 2026) To get Blacklist to start on Windows 11, delete systemdetect.dll Steam 2 Controller does not work. If anyone finds a solution please message me the steps. ~ Muah, happy gaming. =================== Update (6/30/2026): Installed on DIY PC running Steam OS (3.9 beta channel). Steam Controller 2 works. Blacklist boots AFTER logging into Ubisoft. Ubisoft box will popup after you click on the game. User must login before game fully opens.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wonderful game. Played this when I was growing up. Highly recommend. Game was crashing about 30-60 minutes after booting. I fixed it by following a guide. Wish official servers were still up and running (yes, I know about community servers and mods). Anyways, hope this guide helps other players enjoy the game without crashing so often! Tutorial - https://youtu.be/NSfWEjeCnqQ?si=7J3Fy4j_H35YGxWe
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've played this on the XBOX Series X, and thought it couldn't get any better, until I played it here. Graphically impressive, but crashes within an hour of playing every time. Get the offline-offline link from one of the help suggestions here.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →How is this game not de-listed?? It crashes every 30 min cause it cant talk to the servers anymore. DO NOT BUY
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i wish there was a meh button, i love this game but not on the pc it crashes constantly and u gotta log into ubisoft account every often, im gonna have to give it a thumbs down for those 2 reasons sorry Sam... still worth the buy on SALE!!!!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →what absolutely sours my experience, is that you have to sign in every time into Ubisoft connect. Essentially you need an internet connection to play this single player offline game!!!!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Crashes every 15 minutes and is less a stealth sandbox and more a collection of stealth themed missions from a mid-tier Call of Duty game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →one of the most good games of all time; of all time. if it crashes after about 20 minutes, you want to put "-offline -offline_mode" in the launch options. for ultrawide, you want the thirteenag fix. if you want to play the excellent multiplayer now that they have shut down the servers, the thing to google is "5th echelon".
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Every purchase of a Ubisoft game is another reminder not to buy a game from them. These worthless monkeys make me enter my password EVERYTIME I launch the game. They couldn't be bothered to fix basic launch issues. The only reason I even bought it is because I had it on xbox360 and figured it was good so there will be no way they ♥♥♥♥ it up. Guess I was wrong. I am now trying to start the game but I have to jump through Ubisoft Connect hoops for single-player. DO NOT BUY UBISOFT GAMES
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Why does Ubisoft have to destroy everything they touch? This was great, but their stupid launcher conflicts with Steam Cloud save and destroyed all of my progress. This is really common in Ubisoft games. Just stop buying Ubisoft. There's no point anymore. Your game is going to be rendered useless in a few years.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I enjoyed the game a lot back then, so I tried playing it again after so much time, and I had the nasty surprise to see I now needed an Ubisoft account to play. So I quit the launcher and uninstalled the game right away.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game defined my childhood but unfortunately fails to run on modern systems and crashes every 30 minutes and requires a handful of work in order to run. I miss old Ubi :(
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is amazing, however with the constant crashes when trying to start the game, the game does not start and if it does say that it is "running", there is nothing showing. I have tried 19 times on 2 different computers, and the results are the same, constant crashes and no actual game playing. I have tried multiple "fixes" to get the game to run, but nothing worked. It's a shame, because this game is amazing and fun, but the constant issues before the game even start and it makes this…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Can't play after coming back from work because Ubislop servers are currently down, so I can't play this singleplayer game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This feels like the game Conviction should have been. For one, stealth seems to actually have thought put into it this time (although its still a far cry from the stealth of the original trilogy, hiding in shadows mere feet away from enemies that are looking straight at you etc.). Stealth feels like more of an option this time around. It can still function like a john wick simulator should you choose to play it that way, but you can just as easily play like 99% of the game never being seen…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Broken game DO NOT BUY!! I literally delved into every possible fix for this game and could not get it to work. I have a very recent rig build and have never come across such a broken launch file. Do not buy this game and waste your time waiting for the inevitable refund request.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →- Do I miss Michael Ironside? Yes. - Is it more action-based and easier than the previous episodes? Yes. - Is it still a lot of fun and a really well-made stealth game? Also yes.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you're going to shut down the servers for a game that makes online DRM checks every 20 or so minutes, at least have the decency to patch it so players don't have to look up guides to make your game stop crashing. Also, if said game has a bunch of unlockables tied to online functionalities, make them unlocked by default.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →WARNING: Don't just accept the thumbs up, Please Read! Having offically played through the game, I must say that while I've been a fan of Splinter Cell for a long time, The game is...just...so...BUGGY! The game is great addition to the franchise but Ubisoft simply released a really buggy application. I'm not sure if the devs needed more time fixing the bugs, or it was just bad leadership.. or both. The gameplay was nice, the story was entertaining, but it keeped on crashing. It had to be my…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing game 12yr old gem, still better than most of the stealth games today.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yes, this game uses Ubisoft Launcher, which sucks. Yes, servers were turned off in this game so the MP is no more. Even with those limitations of an old game, this game still is one of the best action stealth games ever made. Download the Blacklist fusion mod, it's easy and gives you all the unlocks and widescreen support. Game is definitely worth playing in 2026.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →stunning game that keeps up even in 2026, apart from bugs and crashes that u need to search a bit for the fix, a 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Huge fan of the Splinter Cell series. Had endless fun playing Blacklist on my Xbox years ago, so ofc I got it on PC. Still solid. I'm noticing people are having issues with the game crashing frequently, I did too. I fixed it by going to game properties in Steam and pasting "-offline -offline_mode" in the box. Had no issues since. Hope this helps anyone else who is facing this issue :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game always shut down. There are still stupid bugs. Nothing is surprising, this is ubisoft.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I deleted my original Ubisoft account years ago not realizing I had activated Blacklist on said account. Now I can no longer play Blacklist on Steam. Thanks Ubisoft!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it uses the launcher that shall not be named. enjoy not getting to play a game you payed for because ubisoft linked it to an acount you were not even logged into....... i have one ubisoft account that i made and all my games should be linked to. i have one ainchent account for xbox and these clowns have locked it on the other account. i have spent HALF A YEAR getting back my main account when that email was hacked and now that i finally have access to that one i still cant play half my steam…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this is a great game. however you must add something to the launch line in the desktop shortcut. On the internet it says add (space)-offline-offline_mode . I found that I needed ( space)-offline(space)-offline_mode. without this the game would crash after 20 minutes or so. sounds like work but the game is one of the best out there. (space means hit the spacebar once.)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is still great in terms of map design and player abilities, but the hacker nerd in the story looks like altman / zuckerberg crossover, and that makes me want to punch him hard every time I see him :/
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game but crashing is annoying. So if you want to stop the game from crashing every 20-30 mins, then read. Right-click game on library game list > click properties > put "-offline -offline_mode" in launch options (no quotation marks) > close properties > open game. I don't think it works for everyone, but it did for me. Now ♥♥♥♥ off and enjoy the game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's been 13 years since this masterpiece came out and Sam Fisher has been in everything, but his own game. Ubisoft is too busy milking the dead cow that is Assassin's Creed and whatever other garbage they are making now.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I hate Ubisoft to the core, I hope the company goes bankrupt for the crap it does nowadays. That said, I got the entire anthology bundle for 20 bucks, and this series as a whole is one of the best. No stealth game can run without this game walking, and this particular game was one of the last good games this terrible company made. if you can get the whole bundle on sale, do it, you can kill a solid week playing the whole set straight through.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is absolute garbage. I played thru the intro and then find that I cannot launch any missions AT ALL. It depends on services that are now deprecated. ♥♥♥♥ UBISOFT. DO NOT BUY, EVEN ON SALE.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Splinter Cell Conviction but still broken and tbh kinda slightly creepy in how jingoistic it is Where the previous game went full "rogue agent" like Mission Impossible, this one went full Call of Duty. It's exceedingly hard to tell whether or not you're supposed to be rooting for the side committing extrajudicial murder and torture, especially in foreign countries. You infiltrate Gitmo. The game does not comment on this further beyond the fact you infiltrate Gitmo. You walk past a bunch of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought this on PC to replay it, but I’m spending more time fighting with Ubisoft Connect than actually playing. It forces me to re-enter my password constantly, like it doesn’t trust me to play a game I’ve already bought and paid for. It’s buggy, intrusive, and completely ruins the experience. Honestly, seeing Ubisoft struggle lately? It’s completely deserved. It’s frustrating because this game is proof that Ubisoft used to make amazing, unique experiences. Now, they just seem intent on…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I remember playing this on ye olde XBox 360, and while it certainly brings back memories, it does crash an awful lot on my PC. Straight to desktop too, and pretty frequently as well. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to save progress either, so it's very annoying when your midway through a mission and it poops the bed. Not sure if it's something with my hardward that it doesn't like (in that case, your results may vary,) or if it's just that it's a port (I presume from console?) and it was just…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have to enter in my Ubisoft password every time I launch the game. Ubisoft also requires you to have a complex password of a certain length with a mix of different characters. This is extremely ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ annoying. I reached out to Ubisoft support and they told me that "This is a security measure following an update to the client, in order to play some of our legacy games within the client. This is not an error and it's working as intended." You're telling me that my old "legacy games" can get…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is an perfectly okay aggressive stealth techno thriller. So why am I giving it non-recommendation? The problem is two-fold. First problem is the game itself. It's a continuation of the paths Conviction paved: but this time I think it lost its identity in the process. It has Splinter Cell in the title, but honestly, it's more like a generic action game that's wearing its skin and masquerading as a Sam Fisher game. It's almost like it even tries to be a "Ubisoft All-Stars" game, because it…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game crashes more than a new Ubisoft game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't buy. Played just over an hour and had 3 crashes.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game won't play offline and crashes every time Ubisoft connect synchronizes. Another game made unplayable by Ubisoft. Thought I'd be good since it is 13 years old. I guess not.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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