Ubisoft Toronto will officially join Ubisoft Montréal in working on the long-gestating remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. On Twitter / X, the Toronto studio expressed excitement about the future, and for bringing its “creativity, expertise and updated tech to refresh this beloved classic.”
The move is likely good news for those awaiting updates and progress on this remake. It was originally announced to launch way back in 2021, before an unremarkable first trailer – and a series of development challenges – forced an overhaul.
What happened to Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake?
The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake was in development at Ubisoft Mumbai and Ubisoft Pune, but was later taken away from these studios, and given to Ubisoft Montréal. In May 2023, Ubisoft confirmed the game had returned to the “conception phase” as it required a significant overhaul.
At the time, Ubisoft said these changes involved “‘building up the team, defining priorities, developing prototypes and testing gameplay elements” as the entire project underwent a rethink. Ubisoft Montréal confirmed fans would not hear from the game for the rest of 2023, but assured that it was “putting its strengths and heart into this project.”
Read: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake returns to ‘conception stage’
It’s wild to think about, but since the remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was announced, two entirely separate Prince of Persia games have released – The Lost Crown, and The Rogue Prince of Persia. The series remains incredibly popular, and the release of these games has only increased the expectations and enthusiasm for the Sands of Time remake.
While Ubisoft is yet to outline how Ubisoft Toronto’s input will reshape The Sands of Time, we can assume having teams working in both Montréal and Toronto will speed up development progress, and allow this remake to realise its full potential.
Ubisoft Toronto has pedigree working on Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Far Cry, Watch Dogs: Legion, and XDefiant, and Ubisoft Montréal has experience working on Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Roller Champions, Watch Dogs, and Prince of Persia (of the Forgotten Sands variety). Both studios working together on the Sands of Time remake is very promising.
While the plan for the game is unclear for now, we’re likely to get significant updates later in 2024 or 2025. It’s been a long wait for more news, but there is hope the project overhaul will bear fruit for patient fans.
