Ubisoft has released a statement regarding the cancellation of the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake. Announced all the way back in 2020, Ubisoft’s remake of the iconic Prince of Persia title has been on a rather bumpy path up to this point. Initially set for release on January 21, 2021, the publisher chose to delay the project to March 18 in response to fan backlash, as gamers criticized the visuals for looking dated even despite using the latest version of the Ubisoft Anvil engine.
However, just a month before its March release, Ubisoft decided to postpone the game indefinitely, and it would ultimately switch development studios, with Ubisoft Montreal taking over development from Ubisoft Mumbai. Despite numerous assurances that the game was progressing, including the publisher's announcement of a planned 2026 release at its Ubisoft Forward event, Ubisoft announced the Prince of Persia remake's cancellation this month. The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake is just one of six titles Ubisoft has canceled this year, and is part of a rapidly growing list of games the publisher has canceled in the last several years.
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Ubisoft Issues Statement on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake on Twitter
On the official Prince of Persia Twitter page, Ubisoft has offered a statement on the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake’s cancellation. Acknowledging the disappointment that longtime fans will feel by the news, the publisher notes that the game had “real potential,” but the studio wasn't "able to reach the level of quality [players] deserve.” Ubisoft claims that continuing development on the project “would have required more time and investment than [it] could reasonably commit.”
No further details were given on what caused the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake’s rocky development, with the publisher merely stating that it “didn’t want to release something that fell short of what The Sands of Time represents.” Ubisoft also stated that the Prince of Persia brand remains important to it and that it will not abandon the franchise entirely. The studio will instead make a wide reset to its plans, establishing a greater focus on excelling with its open-world and live-service titles.
The cancellation of the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake is yet another piece of disappointing Ubisoft news, and another unfortunate development for a franchise that was once one of the publisher’s most important. Last year, Ubisoft rejected a sequel to Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, the first major entry in the series in 14 years, and the game’s development team would be disbanded and moved onto other projects. The loss of this remake of one of the franchise’s most important titles feels like a nail in the coffin for the series, right as it was appearing to make an incredible comeback.
Ubisoft’s notion that the remake required more time and money to complete, over five years after its initial announcement, also raises questions about what the publisher has been doing with the project. Ubisoft has not commented on what caused the protracted development cycle, and considering that The Sands of Time remake was rumored to release this month, the amount of money and time already put into it is quite a curiosity.
OpenCritic Reviews
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft Montreal
- Publisher(s)
- Ubisoft
- Engine
- Jade
- Franchise
- Prince of Persia
