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

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.

"Each one is built around a clear genre and brand focus, with full responsibility and financial ownership, led by dedicated leadership teams. It is a radical move, relying on a more decentralized creative organization with faster decision making and best-in-class cross functional core services supporting and serving each Creative House."

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.

It breaks down like this:

• 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.)

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."

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."