Assassin's Creed has gone through a myriad of changes since its launch in 2007. Shifting characters, settings, and design philosophies to suit the ever-changing video game landscape, it has had to alter the formula so many times to ensure it remains one of the most-anticipated releases in each calendar year. It has fast become Ubisoft's most popular property, and recent announcements of Assassin's Creed Red, Hexe, and Mirage have showed that it intends to keep the sizable audience it has amassed. The success of Assassin's Creed used to be at the detriment of Prince of Persia, but now there's every chance they could both exist in harmony.
Prince of Persia has been gone for years, but a remake of its best title, The Sands of Time, has been in development for a while. There were murmurs that the project had been canceled, but Ubisoft insists the game will release some time in the near future, as a swathe of remakes from other companies come to Xbox Series X and PS5. It's officially listed as "coming soon" with no release date confirmed, but the current and future slate of Assassin's Creed games may show that now is the best time to see the Prince return, as he could offer something truly different to the developer's other projects.
Assassin's Creed was Prince of Persia's Replacement
It's hard to remember a time when Ubisoft wasn't so committed to Assassin's Creed, but before the IP began it was the Prince of Persia games that were top of the pile for the company. The PlayStation 2 trilogy got progressively worse, but each of the three were loved by fans with the first, 2003's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time being one of the best games on the system. Assassin's Creed is largely believed to be the spiritual successor to Prince of Persia, with parkour traversal and a history-draped setting being present in both.
Assassin's Creed is very different in tone, though, with a more mature theme taking precedent over a plucky, dashing protagonist. Assassin's Creed is a lot more grown up, and suits the current landscape of AAA games that prioritizes mature gamers, but the lighter, more jovial and romantic feel of Prince of Persia would do well to separate itself from the pack, making it even more enticing to those who don't want yet another high-budget, yet glum story. Assassin's Creed may be more suited to gaming today, but that could work in Prince of Persia's favor, making it truly stand out.
Prince of Persia Offers Something Different from Assassin's Creed
While it's far from the flavor of the generation, linearity is something that many gamers crave. Uncharted understood that a focused, well-paced story is more than enough to justify a price tag, and Prince of Persia was using the same idea long before Naughty Dog moved on from the Jak and Daxter series. Assassin's Creed has done the opposite over time, with vast landscapes and deep RPG mechanics that give each new game a sense of escapism and exploration. Assassin's Creed Valhalla tried to fit in the mechanics of older games into a large open-world, but because of this it didn't truly succeed at either. Prince of Persia can carry the load for linear, story-focused experiences for Ubisoft, allowing Assassin's Creed to go all in on the open-world genre.
Ubisoft is a company that flourished in a number of different genres. From the accurate representation of real-world cities in Watch Dogs to the fun, co-op gameplay of Ghost Recon, the company has its hand in a number of different design philosophies, and usually executes them well. Linearity is something that it has neglected though, and while the plethora of Assassin's Creed games should provide at least one that everyone can like, Prince of Persia is something new for the company's offerings. Assassin's Creed was one of the architects of Prince of Persia's demise, but it seems in 2022 and beyond they can exist alongside each other.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is currently in development.