Numerous reports have today confirmed the death of best-selling author Tom Clancy. Clancy reportedly passed away on Tuesday at a hospital near his home in Maryland, following a brief illness. He was 66.
Clancy was best known for his numerous military-themed novels, as well as the blockbuster films that spawned from them, including The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger. His prolificacy and success combined to make him a ubiquitous figure and brand within the literary world.
That brand extended into the video game industry in 1996, when Clancy co-founded Red Storm Entertainment alongside Doug Littlejohns. Red Storm produced multiple Clancy-branded games--including Politika and the earliest games in the Rainbow Six franchise--before the studio was sold to Ubisoft in 2000. Red Storm continues to exist, and has served as the primary developer on the Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon franchises. Clancy's name has also been attached to Ubisoft's Splinter Cell, H.A.W.X., and EndWar franchises, as well as its upcoming game The Division.
Though Clancy likely had little direct involvement in the development of those games, his name will forever be associated with these franchises, and likely numerous future franchises as well, as Clancy sold the rights to his name to Ubisoft outright in 2008.
"We are saddened to learn of Tom Clancy’s passing and our condolences go out to his family," a representative from Ubisoft wrote on the company's 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."
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