Mix of Assassin’s Creed, God of War and Uncharted. This is what the „Redemption” of Prince of Persia might have looked like

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The Prince of Persia series has been facing a tough climb in terms of popularity, following the success of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. As time went on, it began to lose ground and was eventually eclipsed by the more successful and lucrative Assassin’s Creed series.

Despite the fact that the game may not have been released as planned, Ubisoft, its developer, continues to bring back the Prince of Persia from time to time through projects like the platform game Lost Crown or the remake of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. This remake has faced difficulties meeting players’ expectations and it remains uncertain when it will be launched.

Essentially, it boils down to this: The most expensive production within this universe, as some would put it, was the game “Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands,” launched in 2010, often criticized as being “a game derived from a movie based on a game.” Nevertheless, there was an opportunity for the Prince to appear in another Triple-A title. This potential sequel was “Prince of Persia: Redemption,” which might have either revitalized or sealed the fate of the brand.

Target render

The game titled “Prince of Persia: Redemption” was never officially announced due to its development process not fully commencing. Yet, in around 2010-2011, Ubisoft Montreal designed an internal demo to illustrate the potential appearance of a new Prince of Persia game. Unfortunately, the project didn’t receive approval from Ubisoft, leading the creators to shift their focus towards other projects.

Despite the game’s creators not initially intending for players to know about Prince of Persia: Redemption, a video from Ubisoft Montreal was shared on YouTube in 2012. Remarkably, it took the community 8 years to discover and gain widespread attention for this video. What insights can we glean from this material?

New opportunities

Although the gameplay video doesn’t provide many details about the storyline, it appears that this new version of Prince of Persia will deviate slightly from the 2003 subseries. The main character seems to have a more muscular build and shorter hair compared to his previous versions. Moreover, there are indications that the time-controlling ability will make a comeback, but it will be augmented with other potent supernatural skills for added gameplay depth.

The character in question possesses an additional ability to teleport, along with the capacity to strike at the souls of adversaries, thereby reducing their health levels. Notably, this figure bears a prosthetic arm resembling that from the 2008 Prince of Persia game, enabling him to cling to walls and execute various actions.

Apart from revealing that Redemption is an action-adventure game set within the TPP perspective, the trailer also hints at some thrilling gameplay elements. Alongside intricate platforming sequences, expect intense and varied combat scenarios featuring both common adversaries and towering bosses. Furthermore, the game seems to incorporate a parkour system, similar to that seen in the Assassin’s Creed series, allowing for fluid movement and exploration.

It appears that Prince of Persia: Redemption would have been a suitable fit within the earlier installments of the series and even in the same genre as Assassin’s Creed, along with titles such as God of War and Uncharted, given its setting and potential narrative progression within an environment worsening over time.

Undervalued potential

In due course, ex-animator at Ubisoft, Jonathan Cooper, publicly discussed the topic related to “Prince of Persia: Redemption”. He expressed his thoughts on platform X, which was then known as Twitter.

Wow, it’s been a while since I last saw something like this! Impressive work by animation director Khai Nguyen (“For Honor”) and his team. The pre-rendered footage of this target game resembles actual gameplay so closely that it served as inspiration for our pitch for Assassin’s Creed 3, demonstrating the quality of their work.

Interestingly enough, although it might be challenging to spot connections between Assassin’s Creed III and Prince of Persia: Redemption, there seems to be a striking resemblance in the initial part of Assassin’s Creed Rogue, particularly during the escape from Lisbon. Take a look for yourself.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=T4LvIaKycE

It seems that even though Ubisoft Montreal presented a compelling plan, they still didn’t approve it. Here’s what Cooper explained about the matter:

“If Ubisoft Montreal proposed something so appealing, why didn’t Ubisoft agree? Cooper provides an answer to this question.

Regrettably, compared to other Ubisoft intellectual properties (IPs), the Prince of Persia series is often canceled more swiftly. This is likely due to the fact that the original creator Jordan Mecher retains the license rights, which may result in lower profit margins. Despite this, I remain hopeful for a new installment. Personally, I’ve long been eager for a Prince of Persia game set in modern-day Iran.

As I pen these thoughts, it’s uncertain if the Prince of Persia series has a luminous path in front and whether we might witness a lavish production such as Prince of Persia: Redemption. Presently, efforts are being made on the remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, while the Evil Empire studio is crafting a roguelike spin-off called The Rogue Prince of Persia. Only time will reveal what lies ahead.

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2025-06-30 00:02