The team at Ubisoft Montpellier who created Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has reportedly been disbanded, according to French journalist Gautoz.
In his new video (which is translated here), he alleges Ubisoft decided to throw in the towel with the 2024 sidescroller months after its January release. Despite solid reviews, Ubisoft previously indicated the game did not meet sales expectations.
Even so, Gautoz claims the staff he spoke with called Lost Crown “the best production of my life.” Those same sources allegedly hoped the team could serve as a “rehabilitation zone” for staff burnt out on Beyond Good & Evil 2.
Last year, Ubisoft Montpellier was under investigation by French authorities after “dozens” of developers went on sick leave in 2022. Many of those employees were said to be team leads, and burnout was a specific reason listed for their leave.
Months later, Ubisoft appointed Berlin’s former managing director Istvan Tajnay to handle Montpellier and provide “human-centric leadership.”
Gautoz’s video also alleges core Lost Crown team members pitched a potential sequel, which Ubisoft rejected. One alleged reason given was that it could cannibalize the first game’s long-term sales.
After that rejection, the team reportedly pitched two Lost Crown expansions. One was approved (and came out), and the other was rejected in favor of prioritizing work on other projects.
Ubisoft’s troubled, down-and-out 2024 so far
The alleged dissolution of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown’s team adds to Ubisoft’s recent troubles. In September, it delayed Assassin’s Creed Shadows to 2025 and acknowledged Star Wars Outlaws missed its sales targets.
Ubisoft does not plan to give up on either: Outlaws is coming to Steam in November, while Shadows (whose team reportedly pushed for a delay) will also be a day-one launch on Valve’s platform in hopes of reaching a wider audience.
On the business side, employees at Ubisoft’s French (and Milan) teams have recently struck in protest of the developer’s three-day return-to-office policy.
Additionally, recent reports indicated the Guillemot family was eyeing a team-up with Tencent for a buyout of Ubisoft as a way to stabilize the company. Ubisoft later said it “regularly reviews all strategic options,” and would have more news “if and when appropriate.”
Game Developer has reached out to Ubisoft regarding the contents of Gautoz’s video, and will update when a response is given.
Update 10/23:
In a statement to Eurogamer, the game’s senior producer Abdelhal Elguess confirmed that most of the Lost Crown team has been moved to other projects: “Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is now at the end of its Post-Launch roadmap with three free content updates and one DLC that released in September. We are now focusing on making the game available to more players: it was recently launched on Steam, and will be available on Mac by this winter.
“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.We know players have a love for this brand and Ubisoft is excited to bring more Prince of Persia experiences in the future.”