It’s been nearly a couple of years since Ubisoft announced that its Montreal studio had taken over development of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake from its Pune and Mumbai studios. At the time, it was said that Ubisoft Montreal would be building on the work that had already been done on the remake, but it now seems that the project has undergone a complete overhaul.
That’s as per Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson, who claims in a report that when Ubisoft Montreal was handed the project, the studio rebooted development entirely, and started the project over from scratch. The project has now allegedly adopted a more “realistic” approach, which involves a complete graphical overhaul. The remake is now reportedly set to feature new animations and new mechanics for combat and parkour.
The wider scope of the project also allegedly means that the game has been rewritten, and entirely re-recorded in motion capture. Additionally, it’s claimed that the titular protagonist has also been recast, which means Yuri Lowenthal, who played The Prince in the original and was originally set to reprise his role in the remake prior to its reboot, will not be reprising his role.
The project is allegedly still in the early stages of development. Insider Gaming claims to have seen in-development footage of the game, which is still missing textures and assets, indicating that it’s still a ways off from release. The report goes on to claim that Ubisoft could be preparing to make an announcement related to the game “soon”, though further details are scant. A Ubisoft Forward showcase was recently announced for June 10– perhaps we’ll see something there.
When Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake was first unveiled in 2020, it was met with widespread backlash for its visual style, which its developers defended as creative choice, rather than something necessitated by any budget or time constraints. The project, originally meant for launch in 2021, was delayed multiple times before Ubisoft ended up handing its reins over to its Montreal studio, which also developed the original Sands of Time.
In November last year, Ubisoft shared a brief statement on the remake’s development, confirming that development was “progressing” and had passed “an important internal milestone.”
Another Prince of Persia game is reportedly set to be announced imminently- The Rogue Prince of Persia, a roguelite title developed by Dead Cells studio Evil Empire, allegedly due out in early access next month.