The game was originally revealed in 2007 as being social-stealth-based and deviating from the series' foundations of light and shadow stealth. After poor reception from fans and gaming journalists, the game disappeared from public sight for two years. The game finally appeared again at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009, with a brand new direction that took the light and shadow stealth and geared it for a faster action game play. This new direction garnered a much more positive response.
The developers drew inspiration from popular film and television. The three JBs: Jason Bourne, Jack Bauer and James Bond are often mentioned as characters whose abilities were injected into Sam Fisher. 96 Hours (2008) and Mann unter Feuer (2004) are also cited as inspiration.
The developers summarize the basic framework of the game play as 'P.E.V.': prepare, execute and vanish.
This is the first game in the franchise Sam Fisher does not start with his famous Night Vision/Heat goggles. The player eventually gets a modified version (known as Sonar Goggles) that gives him the ability to see his enemies through walls.
Unlike the previous games, this game does not directly indicate what year it takes place in. In the flashback mission in Iraq where the player controls Victor Coste indicates that the mission is two decades ("20 years ago") before the game, this would mean that the flashback mission occurred in 1991 during Desert Storm. The flashback mission is said to be 20 years in the past. Also, Sam Fisher established that it has been three years that he thought his daughter, Sarah, was dead in Double Agent (which took place in the Spring of 2008). Thus, this would mean that the year the game is set is between the spring of 2011.