After five years of waiting, delays, and a complete development restart, fans hoping to see Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake at The Game Awards will have to keep waiting. The official Prince of Persia account confirmed on social media that the game will not be shown at this year’s show on December 11. With a rumored January 2026 release date, the silence from Ubisoft is raising eyebrows across the gaming community.
The Official Confirmation
When a fan asked about the remake appearing at The Game Awards, the official Prince of Persia account delivered the bad news directly. “Sorry to disappoint, but can confirm Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time won’t be at TGA this year,” the account wrote. Short, simple, and disappointing for anyone who has been tracking this troubled project.
This confirmation lines up with what insider NateTheHate predicted last week. He stated he didn’t think the remake would appear at the show, despite the logical timing. With Ubisoft’s fiscal year ending in March 2026 and the game reportedly targeting a January 16, 2026 launch, The Game Awards seemed like the perfect venue for a final trailer and pre-order announcement.
The Long and Painful Development History
To understand why fans are so frustrated, you need to look at what this game has been through. Here’s the timeline of this remake’s troubled journey:
- September 2020: Ubisoft reveals the remake at a Forward showcase
- The reveal trailer receives significant backlash for outdated visuals
- January 2021: First delay pushes the game from January to March 2021
- February 2021: Delayed indefinitely with no new release window
- May 2022: Development moves from Ubisoft Pune and Mumbai to Ubisoft Montreal
- 2023: The project essentially restarts from scratch under Montreal’s direction
- 2024: Game enters full production after completing pre-production
- 2025: Still no new footage shown to the public
That original 2020 trailer is essentially meaningless now. The entire game was scrapped and rebuilt by a different studio. Nobody outside of internal focus groups has seen what the current version actually looks like.
What We Know About the Current Version
Earlier this year, footage from a focus group screening in April 2024 leaked online. While not officially released by Ubisoft, it gave fans their first look at what the Montreal team has been building. The changes are substantial.
According to the leaked footage, the remake features completely reworked motion capture and cinematic sequences. Both the Prince and Princess Farah have new actors, with particular attention given to making the Prince’s appearance and background more authentic to the game’s Persian setting. The parkour system has been updated with new animations and mechanics, while combat has been modernized to feel more fluid.
Ubisoft Montreal is one of the company’s flagship studios, responsible for major Assassin’s Creed titles. The quality bar should theoretically be much higher than what Ubisoft Pune originally produced. But until Ubisoft shows official footage, skepticism will remain.
Is Ubisoft Planning a Shadow Drop?
The gaming community is split on what this Game Awards absence means. Some fans believe Ubisoft is taking a page from the recent Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered playbook, where Bethesda announced and released the game on the same day with minimal marketing buildup. For a game with as much baggage as this remake carries, avoiding the pre-release hype cycle might actually be smart.
Others are more pessimistic. The original trailer was so poorly received that Ubisoft may want to minimize exposure until the game is actually in players’ hands. Word of mouth and reviews could do better work than any marketing campaign at this point. The less time between “here’s what it looks like” and “you can buy it now,” the less time for internet discourse to spiral.
What Happens If This Fails?
The stakes for this remake are higher than just one game. Prince of Persia as a franchise has been in limbo for years. The recent Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was an excellent Metroidvania that revived interest in the series, but Ubisoft cancelled the planned DLC and moved the development team to other projects. If Sands of Time Remake underperforms, the franchise could go dormant again.
Some fans worry that Ubisoft might blame the IP itself rather than acknowledging the troubled development. The company has a history of abandoning franchises that don’t meet sales expectations, even when the problems stem from internal mismanagement rather than lack of audience interest.
When Will We Actually See Something?
With The Game Awards off the table, Ubisoft’s options are limited. They could announce the game independently before the holidays, drop a trailer in early January right before launch, or genuinely shadow drop it with almost no warning. Given that pre-orders aren’t even live yet and we’re supposedly six weeks from release, the shadow drop scenario is looking increasingly likely.
Ubisoft’s official stance is that the game will launch before March 31, 2026, which aligns with their fiscal year. Tom Henderson’s January 16 date remains unconfirmed but plausible. Either way, fans who have waited since 2020 will need to hold on just a little longer.
FAQs
Why isn’t Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake at The Game Awards?
Ubisoft hasn’t explained why, but the official Prince of Persia account simply confirmed the game won’t be shown. Speculation ranges from marketing strategy changes to the company wanting to minimize pre-release exposure given the original trailer’s poor reception.
When is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake releasing?
While not officially confirmed, insider Tom Henderson reported the game is targeting January 16, 2026. Ubisoft has only stated it will launch before March 31, 2026, which is the end of their fiscal year.
Why was the remake delayed so many times?
The original reveal in 2020 received significant criticism for outdated graphics. After multiple delays, development was transferred from Ubisoft Pune and Mumbai to Ubisoft Montreal in 2022. The project was essentially restarted from scratch under the new team.
What happened to the original development team?
Ubisoft Pune and Mumbai originally developed the remake, but the project was moved to Ubisoft Montreal in May 2022. Montreal is now leading development with support from studios in Toronto, Bucharest, Pune, and Paris.
Has any new footage been shown?
No official footage of the current version has been released. The only glimpse came from a leaked focus group screening in April 2024, which showed updated graphics, new voice actors, and modernized gameplay mechanics.
Will the remake come to Nintendo Switch 2?
Current announced platforms include PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC. No Nintendo platform has been confirmed, though a Switch 2 version could be announced later.
Conclusion
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake continues to be one of gaming’s most frustrating waiting games. Five years after that initial reveal, fans still haven’t seen what Ubisoft Montreal has actually built. The Game Awards absence only adds to the mystery surrounding this project. Whether Ubisoft is planning a surprise shadow drop or simply avoiding scrutiny until the last possible moment, one thing is clear: the Prince will return on Ubisoft’s terms, not the audience’s. Here’s hoping the final product is worth the wait.