Prince of Persia: The Sand of Time Remake is cancelled as Ubisoft announces major internal restructuring and more layoffs and studio closures on the way

Yves Guillemot — (Image credit: Bloomberg (Getty Images))

After years of trying and failing to get it out the door, Ubisoft has finally pulled the plug on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake. The game is one of six projects, four of them unannounced, that were cancelled as part of a "major reset" of Ubisoft's internal structure that CEO Yves Guillemot says is "built to create the conditions for a return to sustainable growth."

"At the center of this transformation are our Creative Houses, integrated business units now combining production and publishing and therefore unifying the gamer relationship," Guillemot said in today's announcement.

If that "creative house" term sounds familiar, you're likely thinking of Vantage Studios, the Tencent-backed operation announced in 2025 that now holds control over the Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six games. Under the new organization, five such creative houses will exist, each of them "organized around a distinct creative genre and designed to concentrate deep expertise in specific types of player experiences," although the others don't have cool names yet.

CH1 (Vantage Studios), focused on scaling and extending Ubisoft’s largest and established franchises to turn them into annual billionaire brands;
- Brands: Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Rainbow Six
CH2 dedicated to competitive and cooperative shooter experiences;
- Brands including The Division, Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell
CH3 designed to operate a roster of select, sharp Live experiences;
- Brands including For Honor, The Crew, Riders Republic, Brawlhalla, Skull & Bones
CH4 dedicated to immersive fantasy worlds and narrative-driven universes;
- Brands including Anno, Might & Magic, Rayman, Prince of Persia, Beyond Good & Evil
CH5 focused on reclaiming position in casual and family-friendly games.
- Brands including Just Dance, Idle Miner Tycoon, Ketchapp, Hungry Shark, Invincible: Guarding the Globe, Uno, Hasbro

(Ubisoft did not define what a "billionaire brand" is but considering that this is the same crew that gave us "quadruple-A games" I'm going to assume it just means they expect them to make a whole lot of money.)

Ubisoft's new &quot;Creative House&quot; structure map — (Image credit: Ubisoft)

The internal overhaul will see the cancellation of six games including Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake, as mentioned, as well as delays to seven other games, all currently unnamed.

In a message posted on X, the Prince of Persia team said "the project had real potential, [but] we weren't able to reach the level of quality you deserve, and continuing would have required more time and investment than we could responsibly commit. And we didn't want to release something that fell short of what The Sands of Time represents."

The Sands of Time Remake was announced in 2020 and initially set to be out the following year, but ran into troubles, multiple delays, and eventually a complete reboot. Ubisoft chief financial officer Frederick Duguet said in 2025 that it would launch "very soon," but obviously that did not (and now, will not) happen. However, the team said in its message that the cancellation of the remake "does not mean we're stepping away from the franchise."

We've made the difficult decision to stop development on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake. We know this is deeply disappointing. The game carries enormous meaning for fans and for the teams who worked on it. While the project had real potential, we weren't able to reach the level of quality you deserve, and continuing would have required more time and investment than we could responsibly commit. And we didn't want to release something that fell short of what The Sands of Time represents. — (Image credit: Ubisoft)

Layoffs and studio closures at Ubisoft will also continue: Following cuts at Ubisoft Massive and RedLynx, and the closures of Ubisoft's Halifax and Stockholm studios, Ubisoft said it is "accelerating its cost reduction initiatives as part of the transformation of its operating model," as it continues "rightsizing the organization and focusing resources on core value-creating activities, notably through further restructuring and strict hiring discipline across all functions."

"We will also selectively close several studios and continue restructurings throughout the Group," Guillemot said in today's announcement. "While these decisions are difficult, they are necessary for us to build a more focused, efficient and sustainable organization over the long term."

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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