Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Would Get A Sequel If It Released On Steam, Says Dev

Summary

• Ubisoft's decision not to make a sequel to "Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown" is frustrating.
• Michael Douse criticizes Ubisoft's broken publishing strategy, suggesting a Steam release could have led to a sequel.
• Douse highlights the impact of Ubisoft's publishing decisions on developers and gamers, emphasizing the need for sensible business practices.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown can stake a claim to be called one of the best Metroidvanias of the last few years. Slick movement, punchy combat, and genuinely innovative mechanics made the game a delight. So, of course, Ubisoft broke the team up and refused the opportunity to make a sequel.

Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown Devs Send "Thank You" Message To Fans

The Lost Crown is one of 2024's best experiences.

It's a frustrating move, and one which has prompted Baldur's Gate's publishing maestro to address the situation, saying Ubisoft has "such a broken strategy."

"It Just Shouldn't Be Done As It Was"

If there's anybody well enough equipped to comment on another company's publishing strategies, it's Michael Douse, Larian's director of publishing, who played a major part in Baldur's Gate 3's overwhelming success last year.

If it had released on Steam not only would it have been a market success, but there would likely be a sequel.

Frustrated with Ubisoft's unwillingness to publish games on Steam at launch, Douse tweeted, "You can assume subscriptions were at a lull when PoP released by 2024. Which means people wouldn’t be launching their store [Ubisoft Connect] all too much."

"If it had released on Steam not only would it have been a market success, but there would likely be a sequel because the team are so strong. It’s such a broken strategy. The hardest thing is to make an 85+ game — it is much, much easier to release one. It just shouldn’t be done as it was."

Speaking on Ubisoft's recent comments telling players to get comfortable not owning their games, Douse said, "If the statement 'gamers should get used to not owning their games' is true because of a specific release strategy (sub above sales), then the statement 'developers must get used to not having jobs if they make a critically acclaimed game' (platform strategy above title sales) is also true, and that just isn’t sensible — even from a business perspective."

Douse is definitely onto something as, in a sign of things to come, Steam now warns players that they don't own their games, and Concord was unceremoniously removed from people's accounts after the game was shut down.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

WHERE TO PLAY

Prince of Persia; The Lost Crown is a 2D platformer from Ubisoft Montpellier. Using his combat skills and time powers, the Prince must explore the mysteries of Persia and Mount Qaf, battling a range of enemies along the way.