Highlights
- Ubisoft cancels Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake to prioritize generative AI investments.
- Publisher to face a €650M write-off while restructuring operations into specialized Creative Houses.
- Future projects will utilize Neo NPC technology under the new Vantage Studios subsidiary.
The long, troubled development of the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake has finally come to an end, and not the one fans were hoping for. In a sweeping announcement made on Jan 21, 2026, Ubisoft confirmed the cancellation of the highly anticipated remake, along with six other unannounced projects. The French publisher stated that these cancellations are part of a massive restructuring plan designed to shift resources toward "accelerated investments" in player-facing generative AI. This decision marks a definitive end to a project that had already changed hands multiple times, leaving a significant gap in the publisher’s upcoming release calendar.
This aggressive pivot is being driven by a stark financial reality. Ubisoft is now predicting it will bring in around €1.5 billion ($1.62 billion USD) for the fiscal year. The decision to scrap these games comes with a heavy price tag, too. According to evriMagaci, the publisher is taking a massive €650 million ($701 million USD) write-off to cover the cost of the cancelled projects, while admitting that profits will be roughly €330 million ($356 million USD) lower than they originally promised investors.
In response, Ubisoft is looking to "rightsize" its operations to cut costs, aiming to reduce the development overhead of its ballooning AAA budgets by the use of automation and AI. “While these decisions are difficult, they are necessary for us to build a more focused, efficient, and sustainable organization over the long term.” CEO Yves said.
A 'Major Organizational Reset' Focused on AI
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot is doubling down on this technology, describing the shift to AI as a revolution comparable to the industry's transition from 2D to 3D graphics. Unlike other studios that utilize AI primarily for backend coding or asset management, Ubisoft is focusing on "player-facing" technology. The publisher plans to integrate systems like "Neo NPC," a prototype developed in collaboration with Nvidia and Inworld AI, as reported by PC Gamer.
This tech allows in-game characters to generate unscripted dialogue, retain memories of past interactions, and react to player emotions in real-time. This is an evolution of their "Ghostwriter" tool, which is already automating background chatter to speed up the creation of open worlds, and "Teammates," a recent experiment featuring AI-powered squad members.
Steam
To support this new direction, the company is undergoing a "major organizational reset." Ubisoft is consolidating its creative teams into five specialized "Creative Houses" that will focus strictly on open-world adventures and games-as-a-service (GaaS) titles. Furthermore, the publisher has formed a new subsidiary called Vantage Studios to manage its most valuable heavy hitters, such as Assassin’s Creed and Rainbow Six. Notably, Chinese tech giant Tencent already owns 25% of this new subsidiary, signaling a move toward asset-focused management rather than traditional broad-market publishing. While Ubisoft claims this will create a "more agile" organization, the immediate result is a fresh wave of layoffs and the delay of seven other key titles.
The strategy is a high-stakes gamble to prove the company's viability to investors and potential buyers, but it risks alienating a player base that is becoming increasingly wary of AI integration. Recent industry backlash against AI in titles like Arc Raiders has already signaled that players are skeptical of the technology. Similarly, the public relations struggle faced by Larian Studios regarding AI experimentation highlights the growing tension between cost-saving tech and creative integrity.
While Ubisoft envisions a future of AI companions like "Jaspar,” a voice assistant from their research projects, gamers are still reeling from the underperformance of recent releases like Skull and Bones and Star Wars Outlaws. With four new IPs like March of Giants in the pipeline, Ubisoft is betting its survival on the hope that players will embrace the very technology that replaced the games they actually wanted to play.
