You might remember that classic time-shifting platformer Prince of Persia: The Sands Of Time is getting a fancy remake. Announced in 2020, it was originally due out in January 2021. Then it was delayed. And delayed again, as the project moved studios. Now it has been delayed once more, only this time it has been delayed straight to hell.
Over the weekend reports began surfacing that the game was being delisted from retailers, leading fans to assume that the project had been cancelled. That was both true and not quite true; while the game is indeed being delisted from retailers, meaning you can no longer pre-order it, it hasn’t been outright cancelled.
That said, and I’m not telling anyone breaking news here, it doesn’t sound like the project is in great shape. Having been in development at Ubisoft’s two Indian studios for years, it was only last month that it was announced the game had been pulled from those teams and was moving to the original 2003 game’s developers, Ubisoft Montreal instead.
Announcing that move, they said the Montreal team “will now take the time they need to regroup on the scope of the game to deliver you the best experience for this remake of an all-time classic, when it’s ready”. Having taken a month to survey the work, things must not have been great, because Ubisoft have now told IGN over the weekend that “we are no longer targeting a FY23 release anymore and the game has been delisted. If players wish to cancel their pre-order they are invited to contact their retailer. They will be updated on the project as the development is moving along.”
That is, uh, not a good sign. For reference, FY23 is the financial year that doesn’t end until the middle of next year, so if it ever actually comes out, we’re not going to be seeing this game for a very, very long time.