Ubisoft Takes the Axe to Prince of Persia Remake

6 days ago 5

Scott Baird is a contributor with over a decade's experience writing about video games, along with board games and tabletop RPGs. Scott has previously worked for Dexerto, Cracked, Dorkly, and Gamepur.

In a shocking move, Ubisoft has canceled the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake, despite it spending years in development and being planned for a 2026 launch.

The original Prince of Persia: Sands of Time launched in 2003 and is considered one of the best games of its era, serving as a template for a new generation of platformers. Starring the titular Prince, the player was given a magical dagger that could rewind time, allowing them multiple chances at surviving dangerous jumps and environmental hazards.

A recent ESRB rating suggested that the remake of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time was coming soon. It seems that the public will never touch it, as Ubisoft has revealed (thanks, Video Games Chronicle) that it has canceled the game, despite it seemingly being close to release.

Prince Of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake Has Been Canceled

Prince of Persia The Sands of Time Remake - Dagger Sand

Ubisoft's Chief Financial Officer, Frederick Duguet, has announced that six games have been canceled and that a further seven have been delayed, with two studios being closed. Four of these canceled titles are new IPs, including one mobile game. This is part of a larger restructuring that will see the formation of five "creative houses" to manage Ubisoft's games.

It's shocking to learn that Ubisoft is culling so many games, and it harkens back to Microsoft's 2025, where projects were canned, and layoffs happened across the board. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is the biggest surprise, especially given how close it was to launch.

The original Prince of Persia: Sands of Time launched in 2003 and is considered one of the best games of its era, serving as a template for a new generation of platformers.

If Ubisoft was willing to cancel the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake so close to launch, then it must have been so shoddily made that it would have damaged the brand. Perhaps, then, it's for the best that the Prince stay in the past, where he belongs.