Yesterday, a new rumor revealed that Ubisoft had disbanded its Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown team after the game failed to meet internal expectations. It was somewhat of a murky picture as to what actually happened, but Ubisoft has since clarified in a statement confirming some of the details.
In a statement to Eurogamer, the publisher said that the Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown team has moved on to “other projects that will benefit from their expertise” and that Ubisoft is focused on “making the game available to more players.”
Insider Gaming understands that the decision to move on from Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and a any potential sequel was made around May of this year and was due to the game missing internal expectations. Sources say that Ubisoft was expecting The Lost Crown to sell similarly to the biggest Metroidvania’s in the market, with millions of units sold in a relatively short space of time. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has sold approximately one million units at the time of writing.
As for which projects Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown developers have joined, it’s understood that the majority have since moved onto three different projects. Most of the team has joined the development of Beyond Good and Evil 2, which was revived internally in 2017. Around a dozen employees have moved to Project Ovr, the next mainline Ghost Recon game. Around a dozen have also moved on to Project Steambot, a Rayman Remake in development at Ubisoft Milan.
Beyond Good and Evil 2 is a project still a few years away, with developers across the entire publisher confused as to why Ubisoft continues to invest tens of millions a year in development, which it’s never likely to get back. Project Steambot has also proved somewhat unpopular internally, as original creator Michel Ancel looms over the project as a consultant.
Developers tell me that Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was a “perfect project. ” It was first pitched in June 2020 and saw a relatively straightforward development pipeline, a luxury that most development teams at Ubisoft don’t have. Yet still, Ubisoft’s ridiculously high internal expectations for such a project have once again prevented developers from exploring creative ideas.
What do you think of Ubisoft moving away from Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and a sequel? Let us know on the Insider Gaming forum.
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