‘Having a Project Killed is a Brutal Experience’: Prince of Persia Creator Reacts to Sands of Time Remake Cancelation – IGN

Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner has reacted to Ubisoft’s cancelation of its Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake, which was scrapped last month seemingly within touching distance of launch.

Writing on his personal blog, Mechner described the loss of any project as a “brutal experience” for developers — who have in some cases spent years of their life working on something that now will never see the light of day.

While not discussing the Sands of Time Remake specifically, Mechner said the experience of having game canceled was particularly tough on those who had invested long hours into their work in the expectation their sacrifices would eventually be worth it, and for younger team members who had spent years on a game they can now no longer show off on their resumé, as their work remains unreleased.

“My sympathy goes to the development team in Montreal; I can only imagine how they must feel,” Mechner wrote. “Having a project killed is a brutal experience. It’s an aspect of the game industry that the public doesn’t often see, but developers are all too familiar with.

“A cancelation so close to release can be particularly devastating for younger team members who don’t have decades of past shipped titles on their resumé. It’s tough to suddenly absorb that the past four years of hard work you were proud of, and looking forward to seeing out in the world as your new calling card, will now never see daylight.

“Words like loss and grieving might seem exaggerated,” he concluded, “but artists put their hearts into their work. Memories of nights and weekends spent in studio crunch instead of at home with loved ones, sacrifices that felt worth it at the time, only add to the pain retrospectively once their object ceases to exist.”

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