Rumors began to swirl yesterday that the development team ofPrince of Persia: The Lost Crown were no longer, well, a team. Due to poor sales performance, it was said that Ubisoft decided to disband the clearly talented group that developed the latest Prince of Persia outing. Today, Ubisoft confirmed the news.
In a statement issued toEurogamer, The Lost Crown’s senior producer, Abdelhak Elguess, confirmed the disappointing news. “Most of the team members who worked on Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown have shifted to other projects that will benefit from their expertise,” Mr. Elguess said.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Revitalizes the Series with Metroidvania Elements
Ubisoft confirmed that no layoffs occurred due to the team’s shuffling. The game was developed under the umbrella of Ubisoft Montpellier. The primary reason most fans are disappointed by the news is because many were hoping for a continuation of the new 2.5D Metroidvania take on the series. When it launched in January, Hardcore Gamer’s Chris Shive gave the titlean impressively positive review. On Metacritic, the game sits in the high 80s across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch.
No Wind in the Sales
Insider Gamingwas one of the first outlets breaking news of the team’s disbandment. In their report, it was stated that Ubisoft expected Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown to sell “millions of units in a short amount of time.” Despite the positive reviews, The Lost Crown has only gone on to sell roughly one million copies to date.
Some blame the fact that Ubisoft didn’t prioritize a Steam release for The Lost Crown as reasoning for its poor sales performance. The game launched across all current consoles and the Epic Games Store on June 14, 2025. It would take until early August, however, to finally get the game released on Steam.
The primary reason most fans are disappointed by the news is because many were hoping for a continuation of the new 2.5D Metroidvania take on the series.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown also had premium DLC drop in September entitled Mask of Darkness. It too was highly regarded by Hardcore Gamer’s Chris Shive.In his review, Chris stated, “Mask of Darkness is what every expansion should aspire to.” Unfortunately, the DLC appears to be too little too late.
While The Lost Crown team at Ubisoft Montpellier reportedly championed for a sequel, it was decided by Ubisoft in May to ship the talent elsewhere. Insider Gaming states the team members have scattered across three upcoming projects. Many have joined on with the squad working onBeyond Good and Evil 2. While others have moved on to either the next Ghost Recon title or a rumored Rayman remake that could be in the works at Ubisoft Milan.
A Continuing Trend
Poor sales figures compared to expectations seem to be par for the course at Ubisoft these days. Perhaps due tomediocre reviews, Massive Entertainment’s recently released Star Wars Outlaws saw a release that was “softer than expected” at the publisher. As of early October, the single-player action-adventure set in a galaxy far, far away had only hit about a million in sales. A PC release on Steam is set for November 21 alongsideits first DLC expansion, Wild Card.
Perhaps Ubisoft is learning that day one Steam launches may be important for sales. The company announced in late September that it would bedelaying Assassin’s Creed Shadows to February 2025– partly to ensure the game launches simultaneously on consoles and Steam.
The Rogue Prince of Persia - Launch Trailer
Check out the early access launch trailer for The Rogue Prince of Persia.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
