Ubisoft has provided a much-needed update on the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake, but it isn’t one that fans will be very happy with. The nostalgic remake has been in development over the past three years, but Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake has encountered several setbacks along the way, and it is still far from being released.
The Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake was originally announced in September 2020 during the Ubisoft Forward event but was met with a lot of criticism due to the game’s underwhelming graphics. The developers were quick to address it, reassuring the fans that the actual game would look much better. Despite the initial disapproval, players were really excited about it thanks to the nostalgic value it held. However, things only went downhill after that as the game went through multiple delays, where reports of it being in development hell surfaced, and eventually, Ubisoft Montreal took over development from Ubisoft Mumbai and Pune, which delayed the game indefinitely. Since then, Ubisoft has reassured time and again that the game isn’t canceled, but fans aren't happy with the latest update.
This update comes via a post on the official Ubisoft website featuring a short Q&A session with Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake’s game director, Michael McIntyre, and producer, Jean-Francois Naud. They provided an in-depth update on the state of the game, but the one thing that stood out was the current development stage. “We’re in conception right now. Since we took over the project, we've been looking at feedback from the community and finding our own way of delivering the game. Now, we're building up the team, defining the priorities, putting prototypes together, testing elements, and looking at how we can include community feedback in the development as well,” Jean-Francois Naud said.
In addition to this, they also mentioned that players won’t hear anything on Prince of Persia: Sands of Time this year, but reaffirmed that the team is working hard to develop it. In terms of other updates, they also mentioned how much importance the game holds for the studio and how important it is to approach it as a “remake” as opposed to a “remaster.” Aside from this, they also confirmed that a lot of the original mechanics will remain intact, but will also be refined so the game feels balanced.
Ubisoft’s trajectory shifted drastically over the year, shelving multiple projects to focus on the more important ones. A recent report also suggested that it was betting big on its Assassin’s Creed series, and plans to increase the size of teams working on various Assassin’s Creed titles by 40%. Nevertheless, Ubisoft’s reassurance regarding the Prince of Persia: Sand of Time Remake has been appreciated by players who appreciated the fact that the game is getting the attention it deserves.
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake remake is in development.
Source: Ubisoft