More bad news from Ubisoft. The publisher has confirmed the cancellation of several games and the postponement of various titles in development.
Among the canceled titles is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake, which was announced in September 2020. We do not yet know the identities of the five other games that will not be released. This includes three new licenses and a mobile game.
In its statement, Ubisoft said it had taken this decision as part of a “major restructuring of its organization, operations, and catalog”. The company also “conducted a thorough review of its content creation process”. It also intends to “reallocate its resources and thoroughly review its roadmap over the next three years” with the objective to restore a higher level of quality across all of its games.
In addition, seven titles have had their launch dates postponed in order to “ensure compliance with the most demanding quality standards”. Some believe that the remake of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is among them. Their release is now expected by April 2027.
Chief Financial Officer Frederick Duguet made a statement to certain media outlets.
“As part of the finalization of the reorganization, we reviewed the projects carried out in December and January, taking into account current market developments, which are increasingly selective. The last quarter was marked by an unprecedented level of competition. Competition and selection are therefore here to stay.
But when you come out on top, or even in second place, with excellent quality content in a given segment, you can reap considerable rewards in terms of player reception and financial performance. This is what really guided our analysis of our project portfolio.
We have strengthened our quality criteria in order to select what we consider to be the best projects to put our studios in the best position to succeed in this market, based on the principle that we must refocus our resources on the games with the strongest long-term potential.”
Finally, Ubisoft has confirmed the closure of its studios in Halifax and Stockholm.
