Ubisoft confirms Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown's development team has moved to other projects, but no layoffs have occurred
Ubisoft has responded to recent reports that the team behind Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has been disbanded, confirming that this is true but clarifying that the staff are still employed by the company.
The details:
French YouTube channel Origami reported yesterday that multiple sources at Ubisoft Montpellier claimed the team behind The Lost Crown had disbanded. It was said that despite the positive reception of the game, plans for a sequel were abandoned shortly after its release due to poor commercial performance.
Many people misinterpreted the report as Ubisoft adding to its number of layoffs this year, but the publisher has responded, confirming that this is not the case and that the developers have simply been moved to other projects. "I'm extremely proud of our team's work and passion at Ubisoft Montpellier to create a game that resonated with players and critics alike, and I am confident in its long-term success," said senior producer Abdelhak Elguess in a statement to Eurogamer. “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.”
Regarding the scrapped plans for the sequel, the original report stated that the team later pitched some content ideas for two DLC expansions. As of the time of writing, The Lost Crown has only received one expansion, Mask of Darkness, which was released last month, along with three free content updates, bringing the game's post-launch roadmap to an end.
It is unclear whether the former team members are working on something completely new, but fans believe they may be involved in Beyond Good and Evil 2, which has been in development hell since its announcement in 2008. With the release of the original game's remaster earlier this year, which includes new content linking it to the sequel, Ubisoft may be finally making significant progress on the project.
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