Best-selling author Tom Clancy, best known in the video game world for his work on big franchises like Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon, has passed away.
The New York Times confirms that Clancy died in a hospital last night. He was 66.
In 1996, Clancy helped found a video game development studio called Red Storm Entertainment, where he would go on to develop a number of big video game franchises — some based on his books; others original. Red Storm was later purchased by Ubisoft, the publisher that continues to make games under Clancy’s name. His most recent release was the stealth-action game Splinter Cell: Blacklist.
“We are saddened to learn of Tom Clancy’s passing and our condolences go out to his family,” Ubisoft wrote on their Facebook page this morning. “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.”
Other games that bear Clancy’s name include the Rainbow Six series, The Hunt For Red October, and the upcoming next-gen game Tom Clancy’s The Division.
Photo: Kathy Willens/AP
Comments
18 responses to “Tom Clancy Dies At 66”
Cause of death?
Last i heard this morning they don’t know yet, the corroners report hasn’t been filed.
On another note… anyone know why EVERY single time i post in the last 2 days i get “awaiting moderation”?
But if i then edit and resave it works fine?
Sounds like a bug.
My account has been the same, always awaiting moderation… was annoying.
testing a message if edit auto-approves.
edit: wow it works, no longer stuck for approval!
yeah i worked that out yesterday arvo, no need to even make a change, just hit edit, then save changes and it works
Hasn’t been disclosed as I understand
I dont know the cause of death, but the appearance of his eyes leads me to think he may have had thyroid problems.
R.I.P. Tom
RIP, thanks for the great games/stories
Awkward. I posted about the division last night on facebook because I didn’t know it was coming to PC. Maybe he was so shocked that someone didn’t know. 😐
Sad to see this, condolences to his family and friends. RIP.
Without him we probably would have missed out on a lot of fun and great gaming experiences, so there’s no doubt about how the gaming world will remember him; But just as Codemasters did (kind of) with Colin McRae, it will be nice to see Ubisoft carry on his legacy. 🙂
Yeah, except now Codemasters have dropped the Colin McRae name entirely, and correct me if I’m wrong he’s not even in the game anymore either. Instead they’ve brought in new blood like Ken Block etc. Don’t get me wrong though, I think Ken Block is a fantastic driver.
He’s good as long as you can edit a scene that has 100 takes before he gets it right. Ken Block does not even compare to the likes of Sebastian Loeb or Colin McRae.
Yeah at the moment they don’t seem to be calling the DiRT games McRae anymore; but we know that DiRT4 will be going back to being more rally focused, so let’s hope it gives more respect to McRae and the games we used to get with his name on them.
What will middle aged vaguely right wing white men read on planes now.
Whatever happened to Craig Thomas? I enjoyed some of his novels such as “Firefox” because they were about planes.
But to answer your question, probably Jack Reacher series.
It’s always sad when someone passes away, but I find it really frustrating when the media make a big song and dance about some famous person dying when there’s tons of people dying every day that don’t even get a mention. Why should we all of a sudden care just because they’re a celebrity.
At the end of the day celebrities are just people.
yeah but different people are capable of different things. thats just like drawing attention to say, a freeloader who has done nothing constructive in his life and putting him on the same level as someone like fred hollows. after all, theyre just people right?
dont mean to sound like a dick, but its more about celebrating what they achieved in their life and their impact on our society.
R.I.P Tom Clancy. Story lines in books, movies and games will not be the same for years to come.
Not to take away from his creativity and talent as a story writer, but his name ended up being used as a brand even though all he did on some games was provide creative direction.
He will be missed.