Ubisoft cancels six games including Prince of Persia and closes studios

Ubisoft has cancelled six video games - including its long-awaited Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake - as part of a "major reset" of its operations.

The French developer and publisher, known for popular games such as Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Just Dance, has closed two studios and delayed seven titles as part of its changes.

Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot said the move would "create the conditions for a return to sustainable growth".

The firm's shares plunged by 33% on Thursday morning following the announcement.

The move comes at a time when studios are increasingly turning to video game remakes and remasters, with new versions of Super Mario Galaxy, Oblivion and Metal Gear Solid 3 proving popular in 2025.

So the decision to bin the remake of Sands of Time - which sold millions of copies in 2003 - has left many fans scratching their heads.

Ubisoft has not specified which titles it has discontinued alongside the Prince of Persia remake.

But it says among them are four unannounced titles, including three based on new intellectual property, and a mobile game.

Ubisoft has closed its studios in Stockholm, Sweden and Halifax, Canada as part of the move, which will include restructuring three others.

The developers were working on a new intellectual property (IP) and mobile titles for Assassin's Creed, respectively.

The closure of Ubisoft Halifax was previously announced in January - the same week the studio formed a union.

"While these decisions are difficult, they are necessary for us to build a more focused, efficient and sustainable organisation over the long term," Guillemot said.

"Taken together, these measures mark a decisive turning point for Ubisoft and reflect our determination to confront challenges head-on to reshape the Group for the long term".

Gaming industry analyst Piers Harding-Rolls told the BBC the move indicated the firm was trying to mitigate risk.

"It's less risky to maintain scale by investing in existing big franchises such as Assassin's Creed and Rainbow Six than launch entirely new IPs and that's reflected in the cancellation of a number of games based on new IPs," he said.

It is the second restructure from Ubisoft in subsequent years, after the firm cut 185 jobs across Europe in 2025.

In the UK, it closed its office in Leamington and restructured another in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Guillemot said the new move was in part due to a competitive market for triple-A games - blockbuster titles which cost millions to develop and dominate large studios' offerings.

"On the one hand, the triple-A industry has become persistently more selective and competitive with rising development costs and greater challenges in creating brands," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

Such big offerings are increasingly facing delays - with Grand Theft Auto VI pushed back for a second time to November 2026.

But Guillemot said despite these hurdles, successful blockbuster games could bring "more financial potential than ever".

"In this context, today we are announcing a major reset built to create the conditions for a return to sustainable growth over time," he said.

Ubisoft will now focus on developing open world adventure games - which let players freely navigate vast environments - and live service games which seek regular payments from players.

The firm said its subsidiary Vantage Studios, created after a €1.25bn ($1.25bn; £1bn) investment from Chinese tech giant Tencent, would aim to turn Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six "into annual billionaire brands".