Ubisoft just cancelled the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake. Five years after it was first announced. Five. Years.

Their explanation? The project needed "more time and investment than we could responsibly commit."

Let me translate that corporate speak for you: "We spent five years screwing this up, and we're finally admitting defeat."

This is peak Ubisoft incompetence. The remake was originally announced in 2020, slated for a January 2021 release. It got delayed. Then delayed again. Then delayed again. Then moved to a different studio. Then went completely silent for years.

And now? Dead.

Here's what kills me: The Sands of Time is a beloved classic. It's not some obscure IP nobody cares about. It's one of the best action-adventure games ever made. The blueprint for modern Prince of Persia. A game that defined the early 2000s.

All Ubisoft had to do was not screw it up. Update the graphics, tighten the controls, keep the soul intact. That's it. That's the whole job.

Instead, they handed it to Ubisoft Pune and Mumbai - studios that had never led a AAA project - showed some rough early footage that got roasted by fans, then spent years in development hell trying to fix it.

The irony? Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown came out last year and was fantastic. A 2D Metroidvania that understood what makes Prince of Persia work. It reviewed well, sold... okay, and proved Ubisoft can make good PoP games when they actually try.

But the big-budget remake of their most iconic game? Cancelled after five years.

This is the same company that pumps out Assassin's Creed games every year like clockwork but can't manage to remake a 20-year-old game they already made once.

My take? This is what happens when publishers treat beloved franchises like line items on a spreadsheet. Ubisoft greenlit this remake because it seemed like easy money, not because they had a vision or passion for it.

Five years of development. Probably tens of millions of dollars. Multiple studio transitions. And nothing to show for it.

Would I speedrun The Sands of Time? I already have. The original. Because apparently that's the only version we're ever getting.

Verdict: Ubisoft just killed one of their most beloved franchises - again. Pour one out for the Prince. He deserved better.