Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is a stealth video game developed by Ubisoft and released for the Xbox in 2002. Players take on the role of Sam Fisher, a highly trained agent of the fictional Third Echelon sub-division within the NSA, as he engages in a series of covert missions. The game emphasizes stealth and the use of gadgets to avoid detection while uncovering intrigue. Its success spawned several sequels, and it's known for pioneering the stealth-action genre's mechanics during the early 2000s.