Out of all the rumors surrounding Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake, few probably expected it to be cancelled. Alas, that’s the case, alongside four unannounced games (including three new IPs) and a mobile title, as Ubisoft is undergoing a “major organizational, operational, and portfolio reset to reclaim creative leadership and restore sustainable growth.”
This involves allocating more development time to seven other titles to “ensure enhanced quality benchmarks are fully met and maximize long-term value creation.” An “unannounced title” previously planned to launch by March 31st, 2026 (rumored to be Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced) is included – that will now release sometime in fiscal year 2027.
Alongside cost-cutting measures and lay-offs (which already resulted in the closure of Ubisoft Halifax and Stockholm), Ubisoft is adopting a new decentralized operating model for its studios. These will be divided into five “Creative Houses” focused on different genres that also have “full financial ownership and account for economic performance.”
They are as follows:
- CH1 (Vantage Studios), focused on scaling and extending Ubisoft’s largest and established franchises to turn them into annual billionaire brands. Brands: Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Rainbow Six
- CH2 dedicated to competitive and cooperative shooter experiences. Brands include The Division, Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell
- CH3 designed to operate a roster of select, sharp Live experiences. Brands include For Honor, The Crew, Riders Republic, Brawlhalla, Skull & Bones
- CH4 dedicated to immersive fantasy worlds and narrative-driven universes. Brands include Anno, Might & Magic, Rayman, Prince of Persia, Beyond Good & Evil
- CH5 focused on reclaiming position in casual and family-friendly games. Brands include Just Dance, Idle Miner Tycoon, Ketchapp, Hungry Shark, Invincible: Guarding the Globe, Uno, Hasbro
If that wasn’t enough, four new IPs are also in development, including March of Giants, recently acquired from Amazon Games. How the various studios will be organized into these Creative Houses remains to be seen, but they will have “dedicated leadership” with “end-to-end responsibility” for their portfolios, including “overseeing the full creative and brand scope from development to publishing (brand, marketing and sales go-to-market strategy).”
Other measures include a reshaped headquarters and achieving the current €100 million cost reduction program (which will now occur by March 2026). Ubisoft is looking to further reduce costs by another €200 million within the next two years and achieve net bookings of about €1.5 billion.
In the meantime, it’s reporting net bookings of €330 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026 thanks to “overperformance linked to partnerships and reflecting a robust back-catalog.” Standout releases during this time include Anno 117: Pax Romana and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – From the Ashes, the former at least performing quite well in terms of sales.
