The Prince of Persia series has been in a weird spot as of late. Years have passed since it last received a proper new entry or any real hint of one, yet throughout 2020 it’s been popping up in random places, like in a For Honor crossover event or a VR escape room game. Rumor has it that this is all building up to the reveal of a brand new game this week, but if the latest word is to be believed, it won’t be coming to at least one of the platforms the rumors said it would.
There have been a few leaks in the past few months suggesting the Prince may be making a return, potentially in the form of a remake of 2003’s The Sands of Time. Things picked up in mid-August with the discovery of retail listings for this alleged remake. Then, just last week, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier claimed that Ubisoft will finally unveil the new Prince of Persia at the next Ubisoft Forward, which is airing this Thursday.
Schreier's claims continue off of earlier claims that the remake will be launching sometime in November for the PS4 and the Switch. This got people thinking earlier today, when Twitter user Andrew Marmo was discovered for a blank Amazon listing for a Ubisoft Switch game. Given the timing, it could be possible that this listing could be for Prince of Persia.
However, noted industry insider Daniel Ahmad says otherwise. Replying to Marmo’s tweet, he states that the blank listing’s game isn’t the Prince of Persia remake but Immortals: Fenyx Rising, a Switch-bound game that has been confirmed for Ubisoft Forward. In fact, Ahmad goes on to say that the remake isn’t coming to the Switch at all, while also shooting down the retail listings' claims about it it launching in November.
That’s not too surprising, as the November launch window was a bit dubious from the start, what with that being when Ubisoft is launching Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. But what’s interesting to note is that Ahmad, despite shooting down the claims of a Switch version, didn’t do the same for the alleged PS4 version, or Schreier's Ubisoft Forward tease. This suggests that the new Prince of Persia, if it does in fact exist, could very well be announced for that system this week.
Speculating further, it’s possible that the lack of a Switch port means Ubisoft could be developing a larger game than it can easily fit on that console. Rather than merely polishing up an older game like The Sands of Time, this remake could be a full-on reimagining designed with current-gen (and maybe even next-gen) consoles in mind. Considering that the Prince of Persia series has completely skipped the current generation, the opportunity is there for Ubisoft to go all in on reviving it for the next.
Prince of Persia is rumored to be in development.