Ubisoft is canceling six games in development, including its troubled remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The publisher is also delaying seven other games in its development pipeline.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, Ubisoft held a call with select media to announce it is undergoing a “major organisational, operational and portfolio reset.” It plans to accomplish this via three pillars: new operating model, a “refocused portfolio with a meaningfully revised 3-year roadmap,” and “the rightsizing of the organization.”
A press release states:
“Ubisoft’s strategic decision to undertake this major reset is driven by the continued shift toward a persistently more selective AAA market and an increasingly competitive shooter landscape, combined with the growing challenge for publishers to create brands in a context of higher costs. Nevertheless, when successful, exceptional AAA content has more financial potential than ever. While last years’ progress with its production processes translated into improved levels of quality for Ubisoft games in 2025, today’s market environment requires that the Group step-changes how it is organized and operates with a view to delivering exceptional games quality at more competitive costs.”
This new operating model will center on five creative houses, each responsible for various Ubisoft IPs and possessing expertise in distinct genres (including its new subsidiary Vantage Studios). This simplified structure is designed to facilitate execution of the company’s strategy to focus more on “Open World Adventures and GaaS-native experiences, supported by targeted investments, deeper specialization, and cutting-edge technology, including accelerated investments behind player-facing Generative AI.” This new organizational structure will begin in early April.
After conducting a thorough portfolio review, it was decided that Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake will be canceled. The game was first announced in September 2020 with a 2021 launch date and was originally helmed by Ubisoft’s Indian studios in Mumbai and Pune. After suffering a pair of delays, development shifted to Ubisoft Montreal in 2022. During Ubisoft Forward in 2024, The Sands of Time remake resurfaced with a 2026 launch window. Its most recent update came in June 2025 with a social media post reconfirming the game’s continued development.
Ubisoft has also ceased development of four unannounced games, which consisted of three new IPs and a mobile title, stating these titles, along with Prince of Persia, “do not meet the new enhanced quality as well as more selective portfolio prioritization criteria”.
Additionally, Ubisoft is delaying seven unannounced games “in order to ensure enhanced quality benchmarks are fully met and maximize long-term value creation.” One of the games was slated to launch in Fiscal Year (FY) 26 and will now arrive during FY 27. While we don’t know what these projects are yet, one of them is reportedly the heavily rumored (but not officially confirmed) remake of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, which appeared on PEGI’s website in December as Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. Ubisoft also states it has four new IPs in development, including March of Giants, an upcoming MOBA it acquired from Amazon Games last month.
Ubisoft has been undergoing a restructuring over the past year following disappointing launch performances for some of its recent AAA titles, such as Star Wars Outlaws. It created its Vantage Studios subsidiary in 2025 to oversee the Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six, and Far Cry franchises. Earlier this month, it shuttered Ubisoft Halifax and proposed layoffs to The Division developer Massive Entertainment after conducting similar restructurings at its RedLynx and Abu Dhabi studios.
It’s always disappointing to hear about game cancellations, especially for a beloved franchise like Prince of Persia. It will be interesting to see how Ubisoft navigates this organizational reset and what new directions they might take in the future.