Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time gets major PC update on GOG

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is getting a useful PC refresh. Not a remake. Not a remaster. Instead, the GOG version of Ubisoft’s 2003 action-adventure has been updated to behave much better on modern computers. The new version adds proper widescreen and ultrawide support, automatic field-of-view scaling, an FPS limiter, improved multi-monitor behaviour and a small in-game settings menu. These are straightforward changes, but they’re exactly the sort of things an older PC game needs when it’s running on hardware that didn’t exist when it first launched.

The update fixes problems modern PCs can expose

The Sands of Time now forms part of the GOG Preservation Program, introducing a new compatibility wrapper around the original game. That wrapper does much of the heavy lifting. Games from the early 2000s were built around very different PCs. Screen resolutions were lower, 4:3 monitors were common and high-refresh displays weren’t part of the picture. Windows itself has changed dramatically since then.

The new GOG version tries to bridge that gap without rebuilding the game. It keeps the original release underneath, while handling some of the compatibility work around it. GOG has also verified the new version for Windows 11, which should make getting the game running on a current PC much less fiddly.

Widescreen and ultrawide finally work properly

The display changes are probably the biggest improvement you’ll notice. The Sands of Time can now run at modern widescreen and ultrawide resolutions without relying on the sort of manual fixes players have traditionally used for older PC games. The camera automatically adjusts its field of view to match the screen shape, so the game doesn’t simply stretch a 4:3 image across a wide monitor.

There’s also a manual FOV option if you’d rather tweak things yourself. On ultrawide displays, the maximum setting stops at around 110 per cent. That’s a technical limit designed to keep the original engine from showing visual problems when the camera gets pushed too far.

One part hasn’t changed. The main menu still sits inside a 4:3 frame because its interface assets were built specifically for that layout. That’s not a major problem, though. Once you’re actually playing, the game can make proper use of a modern screen.

There’s now an FPS limiter too

Another useful addition is the built-in frame-rate limiter. You can set a target frame rate directly instead of messing around with graphics-driver settings or installing a separate utility. That’s especially handy with older engines, because they weren’t always designed with 144 Hz, 165 Hz or faster monitors in mind.

GOG has also added a simple settings overlay. Press F11 and you can adjust the FPS limit and FOV multiplier while the game is running. Press Escape and it disappears again. No digging through config files. No restarting the game every time you want to test a different setting. Multi-monitor users get a small quality-of-life fix as well. A mouse-lock option keeps the cursor inside the game window, which should stop accidental clicks on another display.

The Sands of Time was a major Prince of Persia reboot

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time originally launched in December 2003 and was developed by Ubisoft Montreal. It took the long-running Prince of Persia series in a very different direction, combining 3D platforming, environmental puzzles and sword combat. Its most recognisable idea was the Dagger of Time.

The Prince could use it to rewind recent mistakes. Miss a jump? Wind time back. Take a bad hit in combat? You might get another chance. It turned failure into part of the game’s basic rhythm rather than forcing an immediate reload every time something went wrong.

The story follows the Prince after the Sands of Time are released inside a palace, transforming its inhabitants and leaving him to deal with the consequences alongside Princess Farah. The game later led into Prince of Persia: Warrior Within in 2004 and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones in 2005. Wall-running, climbing and acrobatic movement became central to all three games.

The update comes after the remake was cancelled

There’s also some recent context behind this PC update. Ubisoft cancelled its planned Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake in January 2026 after years of delays and development changes. The project had eventually moved to Ubisoft Montreal, but it never made it to release.

This GOG update isn’t trying to fill that gap. It’s much smaller in scope. The goal is simply to make the existing PC version easier to run on modern hardware, with fewer workarounds and better support for current displays. For anyone playing The Sands of Time today, that’s the practical difference. You still get the 2003 game, with its original graphics, structure and controls. It just fits a 2026 PC setup far better than it did before.

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