Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake Was Reportedly Cancelled at 99% Completion

According to a recent report, the remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was cancelled when it was almost finished, reportedly around 99% complete. The project was one of six games cancelled during a major internal restructuring at Ubisoft, a move that also led to strong negative reactions from investors.

Details about the game’s development came from a developer involved in the project, who shared information on Reddit. The developer, known as SocramVelmar, said the game was “close to the finish line.” Despite this, development stopped suddenly due to internal uncertainty and concerns about layoffs. As a result, several team members moved to other studios that offered more stability.

Why the Game Was Cancelled So Late

One of the main questions is why Ubisoft would cancel a game that was nearly complete. According to the developer, “close to finished” does not always mean “ready to ship.” The remake likely still needed extra time, money, and resources to reach the quality level required for release.

In some cases, publishers decide that cancelling a project is cheaper than releasing a product they no longer believe in. Even if the decision looks wasteful from the outside, launching a game that fails can cause greater damage, both financially and to the company’s reputation.

Another factor is post-launch support. Today, even a finished game often needs updates, fixes, and ongoing content after release. This means more long-term investment, which Ubisoft may not have been willing to commit.

According to SocramVelmar, games like The Sands of Time struggled to find space within Ubisoft’s current strategy. The company has been focusing heavily on large open-world games, which makes it harder for smaller, more linear experiences to get attention, even if they are well loved.

The remake was meant to stay faithful to the 2003 original while adding new ideas. One of the most interesting changes involved time mechanics. Instead of simply rewinding mistakes, the game allowed players to interact with echoes of their past actions. For example, a past version of the character could hold a lever, make a jump, or distract an enemy while the player moved forward.

This system was designed to make players feel like they were working together with time itself, rather than just fixing errors. Unfortunately, this idea will likely never be seen by the public. The developer also said it is very unlikely that the source code will ever be released.

In related news, rumors suggest that Ubisoft has effectively ended the Watch Dogs franchise.