GOG Releases Enhanced Prince of Persia: Sands of Time After Remake Axed

Seven months after Ubisoft cancelled its long-troubled remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, GOG has stepped in with an enhanced release of the 2003 PS2 classic, bringing it up to speed for modern hardware and screens.

A Remake That Never Made It

The cancelled Ubisoft remake had one of the more troubled development runs in recent memory. Announced in 2020 with an initial launch window of January 2021, the project was developed by Ubisoft Mumbai and Ubisoft Pune before hitting a string of delays. By 2023 the game had been handed off to Ubisoft Montreal for a full development reboot, and as recently as last year Ubisoft was still indicating a release was on the horizon, with rumors of a shadowdrop circulating online. That all came to an end in January when the project was cancelled as part of what the company called a “major reset,” as GamesRadar reported.

GOG Takes Matters Into Its Own Hands

When the cancellation was announced, GOG wasted little time signaling its intentions. The platform posted on Twitter that it was working to bring the original Sands of Time to its GOG Preservation Program, and promised more than a simple port. “We are pouring our hearts into making sure the original Sands of Time does not just run fine. We will make sure it is the best version you have ever played,” the post read.

Now that release is live. A video posted to the GOG Classics Vault YouTube channel confirmed the game is available and laid out exactly what the enhanced version includes. GOG’s Adim stated in the video, “Ubisoft’s remake was officially cancelled, so we took the matters into our own hands,” adding that “it is a masterpiece game design and it deserves to be played as intended.”

What the Enhanced Version Includes

The improvements are focused on compatibility and presentation for contemporary setups. According to GamesRadar, the enhanced release includes:

• Fixes for modern hardware incompatibilities
• Widescreen and ultrawide support for current resolutions and aspect ratios
• An FPS limiter option
• A setting to automatically adjust field of view based on aspect ratio

None of these changes alter the game itself, keeping the focus on preservation and accessibility rather than remaking what already works. For a title that spent years waiting on a ground-up remake that never arrived, getting a clean, modern-compatible release through GOG is a reasonable outcome for fans of the original.

Sources: GamesRadar