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No. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake is not still in development, and it is not coming out in 2026. Ubisoft announced on January 30, 2026, that it had stopped development on the game. Its earlier 2026 launch plan, announced in 2024, is no longer current.
Why the remake was canceled
In its January 30, 2026 official statement, signed by the Prince of Persia Team, Ubisoft said it could not bring the remake to the quality level it believed players deserved. Continuing, the team said, would have required more time and investment than Ubisoft could responsibly commit.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (Renewed) | $43.24 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Prince of Persia™: The Lost Crown - Standard Edition, PlayStation 5 | $14.49 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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The Sands of Abzu: A Tale from Ancient Persia | $2.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Ubisoft described the project as having “real potential,” but said it had made the difficult decision to stop development. The statement does not give a completion percentage, budget, or detailed production postmortem, so claims that the game was nearly finished—or how much work remained—are not established by Ubisoft’s announcement.
How the 2026 release plan became outdated
The release-year claim came from an earlier stage of development. Ubisoft’s timeline shows how the plan changed:
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Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (Renewed)
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a 3D platformer which focuses on acrobatics and agility. Throughout much of the game, the player must attempt to traverse the palace by running across walls, ascending or descending chasms by jumping back and forth between walls, avoiding traps, climbing structures and jumping from platform to platform, making other types of well-timed leaps, solving puzzles, and using discovered objects to progress. Combat has a heavy focus on using acrobatics to defeat foes. One example is the ability of the Prince to rebound off walls in order to strike enemies decisively. The player can also vault over the enemies' backs and then finish them off. The player generally attacks enemies and blocks using a sword, although only the Dagger of Time can defeat humanoid enemies, with the exception of the final sword that is acquired in the game. The Dagger of Time contains "charges" of the Sands of Time from the hourglass that allow the Prince to control time. The Prince has the ability to "rewind" time and travel up to ten seconds into the past. While using this ability, all sounds and previous action play backwards. For example, if the Prince was struck by an enemy attack during the rewound period, the health he lost will be given back to him, or a bridge that was destroyed a few seconds ago will repair itself. He can also save himself from death by falling, by rewinding time. The Dagger also allows the Prince to slow down time, and freeze his enemies, using a main-gauche tDeveloper(s) Ubisoft Montreal Publisher(s) Ubisoft, SCEJ Director(s) Patrice Désilets Producer(s) Yannis Mallat Designer(s) Jordan Mechner Programmer(s) Claude Langlais Writer(s) Jordan Mechner Series Prince of Persia Engine Jade[1][2] Platform(s) PlayStation 2 Xbox GameCube Game Boy Advance Microsoft Windows PlayStation 3 Release date(s) November 6, 2003[show] Genre(s) Platformer, action-adventure, hack and slash Mode(s) Single-player Distribution Optical disc, Cartridge
- The Prince soon teams up with Farah in an attempt to return the Sands of Time to the Hourglass, which the Vizier moves to the top of the Tower of Dawn. As they progress through the palace the pair are constantly waylaid by Sand Monsters and the deadly network of traps set in motion in the hopes of killing the creatures. The Prince becomes steadily more worn until his princely armor is mere shreds and his body covered bloody wounds Early in the game, the player will receive help from a non-playable character named Farah. She will assist in solving puzzles too complex for one person. During fights with sand creatures, she will also shoot arrows in an attempt to assist the player. If she dies, the game ends. Plot[edit] King Sharaman of Persia and his son, known only as the Prince, pass through India en route to Azad and conquer a city with the aid of the local Maharajah's traitorous Vizier. During the battle the Prince seeks to win honour and glory in his first battle and heads straight to the Maharajah's treasure vaults, where he discovers the mythical Sands of Time safely contained within their Hourglass and the Dagger of Time, which he quickly learns can turn back time a short amount. When the Prince presents the dagger to his father, the traitorous Vizier demands it as payment, but is refused by King Sharaman. The Persians then continue on their journey to Azad with the wealth prisoners taken from the Maharajah, among them the Maharajah's beautiful daughter, Princess Farah. In Azad, the Vizier, now in the service of King Sharaman, tricks the Prince into using the Dagger to release the Sands of Time from the Hourglass. A horrific sandstorm engulfs the kingdom and the Sands of Time turn all the occupants of the palace into monsters. Only the Prince, Farah, and the Vizier remain unchanged due to their possessions; a dagger, a medallion, and a staff, respectively. Amid the catastrophe, the Vizier demands the dagger from the Prince, who refuses and manages to escape.
- As they wait to die in the tomb Farah tells the Prince, who similarly reveals his claustrophobia, a story she had never told anyone before, about a time when she was little, when her mother told her about a secret magic word which would help her escape anything that scared her: "Kakolukia". As soon as the Prince repeats the word, as if by magic, the pair find a secret tunnel beneath one of the sarcophagi, which winds down into a mysterious, dreamlike bathhouse which resembles the magic fountains that the Prince earlier used to increase his health. As they bathe, the Prince and Farah finally make love and find comfort in each other amid their perilous situation. When the Prince awakens afterwards, he finds himself back in the tomb and discovers that Farah, the Dagger, and his sword are gone, leaving him with only Farah's medallion to protect him from the Sands of Time. The Prince, having found a new sword which destroys the sand monsters on contact, pursues and catches up to Farah once more atop the Tower of Dawn, which he must climb from the outside. When the Prince finally reaches the top he finds Farah being overwhelmed by the sand monsters and, despite his efforts to save her, she falls to her death in the Hourglass room below. Enraged by his lover's death, the Prince uses the Dagger to massacre the last of the sand monsters in the tower and descends to weep over Farah's body. As the Prince mourns, the Vizier emerges from the shadows and offers the Prince a partnership in his evil plan. The Prince angrily refuses and before the Vizier can stop him he drives the Dagger of Time into the Hourglass and reverses time to the night before the invasion of the Maharajah's kingdom. The Prince awakens, still with the Dagger of Time, and secretly finds his way to Farah's bedroom, where he tells her the whole story, which she does not remember as it had not happened yet. However, the Vizier discovers the Prince, and fearing his planned treachery already revealed, attempts to
- The Prince: The Prince is the protagonist of the Prince of Persia franchise. His name never explicitly stated. Though his personality and appearance have varied over time, he is never without his trademark athletic and acrobatic skills, and is generally a good hand with a sword, too. Farah: Farah is an Indian princess and is the daughter of the Maharajah. She crosses paths with the Prince of Persia on numerous occasions and aids him throughout his adventures (while they develop special feelings towards each other). Sharaman: Sharaman is the king of Persia and father of the Prince in the Sands of Time trilogy. A renowned warrior and respected leader, many admire him, especially the Prince. Vizier: The Vizier is a black-hearted government minister with grand plans to wrest power from the sultan and claim the young princess as his own.[9] Development and release[edit] Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was revealed on March 3, 2003 and was created largely by the same studio behind Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell in attempts to "breathe new life" into the action/adventure genre.[10][11] Initially shipped on November 6, 2003 in North America, the game was later released on November 21, 2003 and September 2, 2004 for Europe and Japan, respectively.[12] Development of the game was filmed for series 3 of the program How it's made in a section titled Video Games and shown on the Discovery Channel. Music[edit] Stuart Chatwood, of the Canadian rock band The Tea Party, was selected as composer for the game in early 2002. He began drafting and writing material in late 2002, and began the recording process in January 2003. Included also in the writing process was Iranian composer and violinist Ali Tajvidi and Bijan Mortazavi, and Oud band Le Trio Joubran. The vocals of Maryem Tollar are featured throughout the game. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - Original Soundtrack was released in Japan on November 3, 2003 by Nippon Columbia. Some of the tracks were re-released by Ubisoft M
| Date | What Ubisoft said | What it means now |
|---|---|---|
| May 24, 2023 | Ubisoft said the remake had moved to Montreal and was still in the conception stage. The team was building its approach through priorities, prototypes, and community feedback. (Ubisoft News) | Development was underway, but the project was still early. |
| June 11, 2024 | Ubisoft said the remake had entered full production at Montreal, with support from Toronto, Bucharest, Paris, and Pune, and named 2026 as its planned launch year. (Ubisoft News) | 2026 was a plan announced at that time, not a release date that survived the later cancellation. |
| January 30, 2026 | Ubisoft announced it had stopped development. (Official statement) | The remake has no current release date. |
“Full production” in the 2024 update did not mean the game was close to completion. Ubisoft did not publish a completion estimate in the statements above.
Does this mean Prince of Persia is over?
No. Ubisoft said the decision to stop this remake did not mean it was stepping away from the Prince of Persia franchise. That is a general statement about the franchise, not an announcement that this remake will return. Ubisoft did not announce a replacement project or another release date for the remake in its cancellation statement.
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Prince of Persia™: The Lost Crown - Standard Edition, PlayStation 5
- Lose yourself in the prodigious Mount Qaf. Lose yourself in the prodigious Discover a cursed Persian-inspired world filled with larger-than-life landmarks and explore a variety of highly detailed biomes, each with their own identity, wonder, and danger.
- Live an epic adventure. Immerse yourself in a Persian mythological fantasy through an intriguing and original story as you use your wits to solve puzzles, find hidden treasures, and complete quests to learn more about this corrupted place.
What the canceled remake had planned
Before cancellation, Ubisoft described a remake intended to retain recognizable parts of the 2003 original while modernizing other elements. Those descriptions were development plans, not features in a released game.
- Ubisoft said it wanted to preserve the core story, setting, tone, time powers, acrobatics, wall runs, dagger, and a balance of combat and puzzles.
- The team discussed modernizing combat, movement controls, level design, storytelling, and the castle’s scale and connectivity, as well as adding accessibility options.
- Ubisoft said Farah would have more presence and agency, including additional interactions that were often optional. It also said Persian cultural advisers and a specialist were working with the team.
These intentions were outlined in Ubisoft’s June 2024 development interview and its May 2023 update. Since the remake was canceled before release, they should not be mistaken for playable content.
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