Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time delayed again after pre-order problems
Ubisoft issued a statement confirming another delay for the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake, following reports of pre-order issues at various retailers.
After years of sitting on the sidelines, barring VR escape rooms and crossover content, Prince of Persia finally reared its head again during a September 2020 Ubisoft Forward broadcast. There the publisher announced a remake of The Sands of Time, with Ubisoft’s India-based teams in Mumbai and Pune at the helm.
Despite widespread concerns regarding its visual quality, Ubisoft penciled the remake in for a January 2021 rollout, a due date it ultimately wouldn’t meet. By February 2021, the publisher had delayed Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time on two separate occasions.
A quarterly earnings report from last fall revealed Ubisoft’s intention of deploying the Sands of Time remake during the fiscal year starting on April 1, 2022 and ending on March 31, 2023. Prince of Persia faithful shouldn’t hold their breath, though.
Ubisoft Prince of Persia’s remake delayed a third time
Earlier today, June 3, Wario64 reported that GameStop recently removed pre-order options on its website for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’s remake.
Such a move stemmed from the retailer’s expectation of another delay. A subsequent Twitter post from Wario64 revealed Amazon had also put pre-orders on hold in late May.
Naturally, pre-order troubles and claims of retailer delistings led to concerns of Ubisoft possibly canceling the title outright. The publisher itself has since cleared the air, telling IGN “we are no longer targeting [an] FY23 release anymore and the game has been delisted.”
Ubisoft's statement to IGN on Prince of Persia Remake. "we are no longer targeting a FY23 release anymore" https://t.co/mMSHTxXHHd pic.twitter.com/qnJXQJZlyS
— Wario64 (@Wario64) June 3, 2022
This third delay comes less than a month after the publisher moved the production of the Prince of Persia remake from its Indian studios to Ubisoft Montréal – the development house responsible for the original Sands of Time.
As of writing, the troubled Sands of Time remake still lacks a firm release date. But it could enter the spotlight once again when Ubisoft hosts its next major showcase sometime later this year.