After various rumors that had people believing the heavily delayed Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake would appear at The Game Awards, the game’s official Twitter account has confirmed it will not be there.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake Rumored Release Date
All the speculation about the Sands of Time remake began after Insider Gaming reported that sources say the game is set to release on January 16 next month, followed by an Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag remake in the last week of March. They took the timing between that release and the award show to speculate that that would make sense of where to re-reveal it.
While some may think this could be a way for Ubisoft to try to lower expectations to then still show the remake at The Game Awards, the same social media account has also said that it would be shown next year. If the game really is releasing on January 16, this may be a shadow-drop situation, either through Ubisoft’s own methods or as part of a possible Xbox Developer Direct, which is known for shadow-dropping games, even if they’re not directly under the Microsoft umbrella.
Fan Response to Sands of Time Not Being at The Game Awards
As is the case whenever a video game fan is let down on the internet, some people are voicing their displeasure. One person directly replied to the post and said that the developers don’t care, and another has said that they hope the game gets outright canceled because it not being at The Game Awards was the final straw, apparently. A possible explanation for it not being there is how expensive getting your game shown on that stage can be, and the game already being known about for so long that Ubisoft just wants to release it, saving as much money as possible.
As unsurprising as it is for some to let their emotions get the best of them, this game has definitely had a rocky road to launch. The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake was initially announced back in 2020 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, with an expected release in January 2021, before it was indefinitely delayed, and a different development team took over the project and, presumably, restarted work on the game. Since then, Ubisoft has stated that the game is expected to release sometime in 2026, though no window within the year has been officially given.
When the game was initially announced, it seemed like it would be the first reinvigoration of the franchise in a long time. However, with the development issues, two other Prince of Persia games were released: The Rogue Prince of Persia and the fantastic Metroidvania styled Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. While Sands of Time is definitely the highest profile game in the series, you can’t really go wrong playing either of those games as well.