Ubisoft just pulled the plug on the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake, and I'm not even surprised anymore. That's the problem.
The game was announced in 2020. Six years ago. It was delayed multiple times, bounced between studios, and now it's just... gone. Along with five other games — four unannounced titles and one mobile game — all scrapped because they "didn't meet enhanced quality standards."
You know what would've met quality standards? Shipping the game people actually wanted.
The Restructure Nobody Asked For
Ubisoft is calling this a "major reset." They're splitting the company into five "Creative Houses," each focused on specific genres with supposedly full creative autonomy. CEO Yves Guillemot says this is necessary because "the AAA industry has become persistently more selective and competitive with rising development costs."
Translation: we spent too much money on too many projects and now we're in damage control mode.
They're also shutting down the Halifax and Stockholm studios, with more closures planned. Layoffs are coming, though they won't say how many yet. Classic corporate speak — we'll tell you the bad news later when you're not paying attention.
Oh, and they're forcing everyone back to the office five days a week. Because nothing says "we value our employees" like mandatory RTO during mass layoffs.
What This Really Means
Here's the thing: Ubisoft has been bleeding for years. They reported €330 million in quarterly sales, which sounds decent until you realize it's mostly from back-catalog games and partnerships. Their new releases? Not hitting.
The Prince of Persia remake was supposed to be a safe bet — beloved franchise, nostalgia factor, proven formula. But after bouncing it between studios and watching it languish in development hell, they just gave up. Seven other games are getting "extended development time," which is corporate for "we have no idea when these are shipping."
And look, I get it. Game development is expensive. The industry is brutal. Rising costs, longer dev cycles, higher player expectations — it's a nightmare. But Ubisoft's problems aren't just about market conditions. They're about consistently mismanaging projects, chasing live-service trends nobody asked for, and churning out the same open-world formula until players got exhausted.
The Real Tragedy
The worst part? The Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown that came out in 2024 was actually really good. It was a tight, focused Metroidvania that reminded people why they loved this franchise. It proved Ubisoft can make great games when they're not drowning in their own bureaucracy.
But instead of building on that success, they're canceling the remake, shutting down studios, and restructuring into some corporate buzzword nightmare.
I've covered this industry for six years. I've seen studios rise and fall. I've watched companies make stupid decisions and bounce back. But Ubisoft feels different. It feels like they're stuck in this cycle of announcing ambitious projects, delaying them into oblivion, and then acting shocked when things don't work out.
Verdict: Look, I want Ubisoft to succeed. I want them to make great games again. But this restructuring doesn't inspire confidence — it screams desperation. Canceling the Prince of Persia remake after six years isn't a "reset," it's an admission of failure.
Would I speedrun this company's comeback arc? Only if they actually finish something worth playing.
The restructuring will impact fiscal years 2026 and 2027, with more details on layoffs coming later. One game has already been delayed from fiscal 2026 to 2027. Ubisoft's mandatory five-day in-office policy goes into effect immediately.
