Author Tom Clancy passed away in Baltimore last night, his publicist has confirmed, at the age of 66.
In the video game industry, Clancy’s name is a prefix to several Ubisoft titles including: Splinter Cell, HAWX and Ghost Recon. However, Clancy first entered the video game industry when he founded Red Storm Entertainment in 1996 with British ex-submariner Doug Littlejohns. Red Storm’s first game was Tom Clancy’s Politika, a risk-like game based on the Tom Clancy’s Power Plays novel, “Politika“. Red Storm continued making games, but firmly established itself in the industry with the release of Rainbow Six in 1998. Ubisoft later purchased the studio in August 2000, as Red Storm was producing Ghost Recon. In March 2008, Ubisoft announced that it had acquired the intellectual property rights to the Tom Clancy name for use in video games, books, and movies.
Clancy’s books, and the video games which bear his name, both share a focus on military and espionage action. Several of his books have also been made into feature films, including The Hunt for Red October, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears and Patriot Games.
A Ubisoft spokesperson issued the following statement to GamesIndustry International: “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.”