The Prince of Persia remake's been delayed because 2020 is 'a year like no other'

Prince of Persia remake.
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Ubisoft's remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has been delayed by a couple of months due to the ongoing global pandemic. Originally scheduled for release on January 20, 2021, the game will now be released March 18.

The statement from the game's developer team, which is spread across Ubisoft Mumbai and Ubisoft Pune, says: "We are excited to be able to put this game in your hands again as we retell the story of the Prince and Farah in amazing 11th century Persia. However, 2020 has been a year like no other. Today we have to inform you we need more time to complete the game, so the release date of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake has been moved to March 18, 2021. We believe this is the right decision to ensure we deliver a game you like."

Such a minor delay hardly seems unusual in the circumstances, and all anyone's hoping is that it's enough time to get things right. The prince has been something of a stop-start project for Ubisoft in recent years, when it comes to videogames at least, but this is the game that made everyone fall in love with him all over again. It's charming, inventive, and nothing subsequent had quite the same combination of grace and wonder.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake will release on the Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Store—but not Steam— on March 18 2021. It'll also be available as part of Ubisoft’s subscription service, Uplay+.

Rich Stanton

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."