Often, round this time of 12 months, I’m pondering again on a few of my favourite video games of the earlier 12 months and prepping for Sport of the 12 months conversations. As a substitute, I’ve spent this week being pissed off that one among my absolute favourite video games of 2024 simply had its growth crew scattered to the 4 winds. 2024 isn’t even over but, and Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown has apparently been written off by Ubisoft higher-ups.
Abdelhak Elguess, the sport’s senior producer, informed Eurogamer on Wednesday that “many of the crew members who labored on Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown have shifted to different tasks that may profit from their experience.” And based on Insider Gaming, these tasks allegedly are a Rayman sport, the subsequent Ghost Recon sport, and Past Good and Evil 2 (which has been in growth hell because it was first introduced in 2008 — that’s proper, 2008).
That’s regardless of The Misplaced Crown crew pitching a sequel that might have saved all of them collectively. Once more, based on Insider Gaming’s identical report, that sequel was rejected because of the sport lagging behind on gross sales expectations.
The Misplaced Crown, a crisp 2D Metroidvania with fluid fight, a cool story, and super-adjustable issue settings, wasn’t only a important darling right here at epicgamejourney. It’s acquired an 86 on Metacritic and “Very Constructive” evaluations on Steam. The sport reportedly offered a million copies, however apparently, that wasn’t sufficient. (Ominous information for Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws, which has additionally solely offered a million.)
Whose fault is it if the sport didn’t promote properly? Absolutely not the builders of The Misplaced Crown, which once more, was critically acclaimed and beloved by lots of the individuals who did play it. That feels like a advertising drawback, not a growth drawback. So why cut up up a crew of people that created one thing nice already? Constructing a cohesive, profitable crew is extraordinarily difficult. If Ubisoft decision-makers didn’t need that crew to work on one other Prince of Persia sport, superb — however why not assign the crew to a brand new undertaking, whereas maintaining all of them collectively?
Baldur’s Gate 3 exec Michael Douse appears to agree. Douse wrote a thread on X (previously Twitter) about Ubisoft management having failed The Misplaced Crown, and specifically, the truth that the sport wasn’t launched on Steam till August of this 12 months. “If it had launched on Steam,” he wrote, “not solely would it not have been a market success, however there would possible be a sequel as a result of the crew are so robust. It’s such a damaged technique. The toughest factor is to make a 85+ [on Metacritic] sport — it’s a lot, a lot simpler to launch one. It simply shouldn’t be completed because it was.
“If the assertion ‘avid gamers ought to get used to not proudly owning their video games’ is true due to a selected launch technique (sub above gross sales),” he continued, “then the assertion ‘builders should get used to not having jobs in the event that they make a critically acclaimed sport’ (platform technique above title gross sales) can also be true, and that simply isn’t wise — even from a enterprise perspective.”
I’m undecided whether or not an earlier Steam launch would have made a distinction for The Misplaced Crown or not, however I do know that placing out a sport in early January is a bizarre transfer. Only a few main video games come out in that point interval; I might guess that’s as a result of most individuals are busy taking part in no matter video games they acquired as items over the vacations, and for those who can’t handle to place out a sport earlier than the vacation season, you’ll be climbing uphill to get mainstream consideration on it.
Or possibly it was the shadow of the Sands of Time remake, additionally in growth hell, that led folks to be turned off by a distinct Prince of Persia sport. In spite of everything, The Misplaced Crown doesn’t star the Prince, so if that’s what gamers needed, they could not have given this sport an opportunity. Or, in in search of different explanations, some would possibly look to the pile-up of racist feedback on the primary reveal trailer for this sport, which debuted its Black, non-Prince protagonist with an authentic hip-hop track. It’s laborious to say how a lot bigots have an effect on gross sales; there’s not sufficient information on that. However I’ll say, as anyone who loved the trailer’s track and vibe, I gotta admit — that trailer doesn’t actually match the online game. The sport’s soundtrack additionally owns, however it has a really totally different soundscape that meshes each modern and historic musical influences. It looks like nobody at Ubisoft may determine the right way to promote this sport, which is silly and irritating, as a result of it’s extremely good.
Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown deserved higher. Its crew of builders deserved one other likelihood to maintain making cool video games collectively. In order we enter GOTY season, properly, I’m going to maintain on being offended about this.
