With its last mainline entry releasing all the way back in 2010, well over a decade ago, it seems safe to say that thePrince of Persiafranchise has been well and truly forgotten about by Ubisoft. Instead, the last decade has seen Ubisoft decide to turn its attention to another free-running, sword-wielding, globe-trotting adventure series,Assassin’s Creed. And despite only being announced a year ago,Ubisoft’s nextAssassin’s Creedtitle,Assassin’s Creed Mirage, is very likely to beatPrince of Persiato the punch.
Over the last three years,Ubisoft has continued to supportAssassin’s Creed Valhalla, but its most recent update also marks its final one, and Ubisoft is wasting absolutely no time producing another entry. Announced last September,Assassin’s Creed Mirageis set to be a smaller-scale adventure that hearkens back to the very first game in the long-running stealth-adventure series, which in itself was originally planned to be aPrince of Persiaspin-off. But fate has really done a number on both franchises, leavingPrince of Persiain the dust, and elevatingAssassin’s Creedto the top of the gaming industry.
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Assassin’s Creed Mirage Is Likely to Release Long Before the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake
Despite a generally favorable reception,2010’sPrince of Persia: The Forgotten Sandsmarked the final mainline release for the franchise, but that hasn’t been for a lack of trying. In 2020, Ubisoft announced that a remake of 2003’s belovedPrince of Persia: The Sands of Timewas officially in the works, an announcement that fans had been desperate to hear for years. But this announcement wasn’t met with quite the reception Ubisoft had hoped for, or expected.
ThePrince of Persia: Sands of Timeannouncementcame alongside a trailer, depicting some of the game’s most iconic moments in all of their 2020 glory. However, this trailer wasn’t quite as spectacular as it should have been. Fans were quick to condemn the remake for its rough visuals and its cheap-looking aesthetic, and matters were only made worse when Ubisoft claimed that these subpar visuals were actually an intentional artistic choice. It was clear that Ubisoft wasn’t being entirely truthful here, and its attempt to calm its fan-base backfired, leading to an immediate delay.
Now, almost three years later, there’s absolutelyno sign of thePrince of Persia: Sands of Timeremake. Back in June 2022, Ubisoft announced thatPrince of Persia’s developers, Ubisoft Mumbai and Pune, had been pulled from the project, and Ubisoft Montreal was instead taking the helm. Since then, no news whatsoever has come to light about the project, with it simply being put on hold indefinitely. The odds ofPrince of Persia: The Sands of Timeactually releasing are fairly low, and the odds of it releasing anytime soon are lower still.
So, although it was only announced back in September 2022, it seems extremely likely thatAssassin’s Creed Miragewill release long beforePrince of Persia: The Sands of Time, with rumors and leaks suggesting that Ubisoft is targeting an August 2023 release date. Thankfully,Assassin’s Creed Miragemight offerPrince of Persiafans at least a slightly similar experience.Assassin’s Creed Miragewill apparently be a much more streamlined, smaller-scaleAssassin’s Creedadventure, with more of a focus on linear level design than open-world exploration. Hopefully this streamlined nature can lead to some more complex gameplay mechanics, like an updated free-running system that can givePrince of Persiafans at least a taste of what they’re after.
Assassin’s Creed Mirageis in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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