In a twist that feels straight out of its time, the long-suffering Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake has resurfaced. The leaks have resurfaced not through an official trailer, but via a tantalizing leak that has got fans rewinding their skepticism. Nearly 10 minutes of early 2024 internal footage, including motion capture sessions, alpha gameplay, and concept art, hit the internet yesterday. The leaks went viral before Ubisoft could swing its dagger to take it down.
The spill offers the first substantial glimpse into a project that has dodged release dates. The leak was originally spotted by a Reddit user (u/siliconwolf13). The 10-minute video gives an inkling of a number of updates and improvements in the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake.
A History of Delays
The said project was announced in 2020 with a planned January 2021 launch, but the remake quickly became a poster child for Ubisoft’s development woes. Prince of Persia has a history of delays. Delays piled up through 2021, 2022, and beyond, with the company offering vague assurances of deep development in 2025.
Fans had all but written it off as vaporware, joining the ranks of stalled Ubisoft projects like the Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remake. But now, with a confirmed 2025 window and insiders pointing to mid-January, the sands might finally be shifting in the Prince’s favor.
Gameplay and Combat Upgrades
The leaks have revealed some improvements to the game. Some of the notable improvements are updated combat, parkour, and a more powerful princess Farah, who was a companion in the 2003 original game. Princess Farah, despite being a player in the game, often needed your assistance in combat. The leaks hinted that both the prince and Princess Farah have new actors. The leaked documents read, “From now on, Farah is a true ally, capable of fighting independently with her bow and executing cooperative attacks. There is no longer a need to protect her.”
The centre of attention, however, is the updated casting of Prince. The leaked footage suggests that motion capture and cinematic sequences have been reworked as a whole. New cast and recorded fresh voiceover sessions are aimed at delivering more authentic and engaging gameplay.
Ubisoft has changed its approach. The game is being built on a newer engine that supports higher fidelity character movement and more detailed environments. Two new locations are added to the original route, thereby disproving the theory of one-to-one copy.
The Platform on Which Prince of Persia Will Be Playable
The question follows: Which platform will be Prince of Persia playable on? Even though the talk about the Sands of Time is quite messy, there is not an iota of doubt in the fact that the game will not be playable on PS4. This might have been a viable option back in 2020, since the release is slated for January 2026, but being available on PS4 makes no sense. So that leaves the PC, Xbox One, and the PS5.
The assumption is that Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake will be playable on PS5, Series X, and S, and PC. Even though there is a speculation that Nintendo’s hardware might get a version, that is a vague speculation. The game is still happening; it is in development. We are hopeful that the wait is not going to be longer. Early release is expected.