PoP Sands of Time Remake Shadow Drop: Is January 16 The Date?

News
Written By NLM Team

Ubisoft has spent years treating the Sands of Time Remake like a dirty secret, but a new domain update proves the Prince is finally clawing his way back to the light.

I have been around long enough to know that when a major publisher goes this quiet about a game that is supposedly weeks away, it usually means one of two things: it is either canceled, or they are preparing to just dump it on the store and hope for the best. With Tom Henderson doubling down on a January 16 release date, the "shadow drop" theory is starting to look like the only logical path forward for a project that has been through absolute hell. Ubisoft needs to stop the bleeding, and a surprise launch might be the only way to get people talking about the gameplay instead of the troubled development history.

The Henderson Factor And The One-Month Blitz

The source of all this chaos is Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson, who has been uncannily accurate about Ubisoft’s internal disasters in the past. He has consistently pointed to mid-January for the Prince’s return, specifically mentioning that Ubisoft is planning an extremely compressed marketing window. We are talking about a one-month blitz where they show the game and then immediately let you buy it. Since we are already in January and the official social media accounts are still posting concept art and "we are working on it" platitudes, the window for a traditional hype cycle has officially slammed shut.

Why The Game Awards Silence Was A Tell

The biggest red flag for me was the total lack of the Prince at The Game Awards last month. Everyone expected a "one more thing" trailer with a release date, but instead, we got a big fat nothing. In the AAA world, if you miss the year’s biggest marketing stage for a game that is rumored to drop in weeks, you are either in trouble or you are planning a stealth release. By skipping the TGA spotlight, Ubisoft avoided the immediate "it still looks like a mobile game" memes that killed the original 2020 reveal. A shadow drop on January 16 allows the game to stand on its own merits without months of pre-release nitpicking.

The "Skip The Hate" Strategy

I honestly think a shadow drop is the smartest move Ubisoft has left. They know the internet has a long memory and a short temper when it comes to this remake. If they release a trailer today for a launch in three months, people will spend every day between now and then finding reasons to hate the new art style or the voice acting. If they just drop it on January 16 and the game is actually good, the positive word-of-mouth will override the years of bad PR. It is a high-risk, high-reward play that suggests they finally have a version of the game they aren't embarrassed to show.

Fiscal Deadlines And Final Hopes

Ubisoft is also staring down the end of their fiscal year in March, and they desperately need to pad their numbers after a rocky 2025. Moving the Prince into the January slot satisfies the investors and gives the game a clear runway before the big spring blockbusters start eating up everyone’s budget. I am tired of waiting for the sands to shift, and if January 16 comes and goes with nothing but another "development is progressing" tweet, I might finally give up hope. But for now, I am keeping my wallet ready for a surprise trip back to Persia.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

NLM Team
Previous

Sony Engineers Are Having A Literal Nightmare After The PS5 ROM Keys Leaked
Next

Onyx: The Dark Grip Trademark Might Be The Answer To Bloober Team's Cryptic Countdown