Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake Cancelled – Full Timeline

So ever since the Prince of Persia remake was announced, and ever since Ubisoft Montreal took the lead on this project, we have been hopeful that Sands of Time would get justice. That it would get modern graphics, modern gameplay enhancements. Something that was missing in the Ubisoft India remake. But I am very sad to report that Ubisoft has completely canceled the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake.

Timeline of Events

Out of the blue, in September 2020, Ubisoft announced a remake trailer for Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. And the game's release date back then was January 2021. Meaning the game was almost finished. But this game was being developed by Ubisoft Pune and Mumbai studios. And the quality of this remake was worse than the original. The light sources weren't defined, the character models were very cartoonish, and there was nothing impressive in that trailer except for Yuri Lowenthal's voice acting. And Yuri Lowenthal is the voice of the original Prince. So the Prince's animations, his fighting style, the gameplay—everything was just like the original.

After the backlash, Ubisoft first delayed this game to March 2021. At that time, Ubisoft India was still overseeing the development. And Ubisoft India said they would give this remake a new look. Then in February 2021, the game was delayed indefinitely. Now it had no release date.

Then, after waiting a whole year, in May 2022, Ubisoft announced that Ubisoft Montreal would now take over this Sands of Time remake project. And then Montreal decided that they would start this project from scratch. Meaning whatever Ubisoft India had made—the motion captures, everything—would all go to waste. And right then, Yuri Lowenthal's voice acting also had to be replaced due to budget issues.

Then, at the 2024 Summer Game Fest, Ubisoft Montreal launched a teaser to tell fans that the remake was now releasing in 2026.

But now it has been officially canceled. The reason Ubisoft has given is that this remake would still require over-investment and over-time, and they cannot commit that many resources now, which is why they have canceled this remake.

Analysis: Why Was It Really Canceled?

So let's analyze why this remake was actually canceled.

First and foremost, Ubisoft thought that by making a cheap remake, they could create a quick cash grab product. But when, due to low-cost development, the community didn't like this remake, the cost of re-making it just kept increasing.

And now Ubisoft is resetting all their studios. And in their new business plan, where they want to cut costs by up to $200 million, this Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake doesn't fit. Yes, now investing more money into this remake is unviable for them. Another reason for this is that the projected sales for this remake aren't so high that the invested money would be returned.

Fan Response to the Cancellation

Now let's see what the fans' response has been to this cancellation. Disappointed fans will obviously be there. But on one hand, people were also happy. Some believe this remake was going to be very woke. And that Ubisoft Montreal's writers would change the story, add some different characters, or not make the characters like the original. Also, some fans were saying that due to Ubisoft's DEI—meaning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—they wouldn't even make Farah beautiful. And the essential bathhouse scene from Sands of Time would also be cut. So some fans are breathing a sigh of relief that the original is still king.

And according to rumors, gameplay-wise, Ubisoft Montreal was putting in extended gameplay sections for Farah in the Sands remake, which some fans wouldn't like over the Prince's dominance.

Ubisoft's Current Situation and Restructuring

Anyway, Ubisoft is currently in very big trouble business-wise. And their last games like Star Wars Outlaws completely flopped, and Assassin's Creed Shadows also underperformed. Even though Ubisoft hasn't officially admitted that AC Shadows didn't do that well, when you consider player numbers and overall factors, it's obvious that it didn't achieve the home run Ubisoft wanted from AC Shadows. Even AC Mirage had more player numbers than AC Shadows.

So now, to keep themselves afloat, Ubisoft has restructured all their studios into five distinct creative houses. Where each studio will focus on one type of game.

• Vantage Studios: Which will focus on big cash cows like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six.
• A Shooter Division: Which will focus on franchises like Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell, and The Division.
• A Live Experience Division: Which will look after live service games like For Honor, The Crew, Skull & Bones, etc.
• Fantasy & Narrative Division: Which is for games like Prince of Persia, Rayman, Legends, and the still-not-canceled Beyond Good & Evil.
• Casual & Family Division: Which will be for games like Just Dance, other titles, etc.

And Ubisoft's CEO, Yves Guillemot, says these changes were necessary to reclaim their creative leadership and focus on open-world adventures and games-as-a-service titles. I mean, the Ubisoft CEO still hasn't understood what players want and what they are creating.

Key Takeaways

The Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake joins the growing list of cancelled projects as Ubisoft struggles to find its footing in an increasingly competitive market. Whether we'll ever see a proper remake of this beloved classic remains uncertain.