Everything we know about the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake

Prince of Persia used to be one of Ubisoft's flagship series, but it lost that title to Assassin's Creed, which originally started as a Prince of Persia game before gaining favor amongst gamers as something new. It has been 10 years since there had been any news about a new Prince of Persia game.

During September 2020's Ubisoft Forward, the company confirmed a remake for the 2003 classic The Sands of Time was in development. Reception to this remake's announcement was mixed due to its underwhelming graphics, but fans were excited for its return nonetheless.

It is often considered the best in the series and will introduce the franchise to a whole new generation of people. While the surprise was leaked beforehand and was met with some controversy afterward, this remake is still a welcome return for fans of this classic franchise.

For those curious about jumping into this franchise, this is everything we know about Ubisoft Pune and Ubisoft Mumbai's Anvil Engine-powered Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake so far.

When is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake release date?

Ubisoft's remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has no release date as it was delayed indefinitely in February 2020. The game was originally slated for January 2021 but was delayed to March 18, 2021 so the developers could polish the game further based on feedback.

Clearly, the game needed more work than initially expected to fix all of the issues caused by its backlash. "Since announcing Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake in September, we saw an outpouring of feedback from you on this beloved franchises," their message said.

"It is your passion and support that is driving our development teams to make the best game possible. With that said, we have made the decision to shift the release for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake to a later date," it continues. "This extra development time will enable our teams to deliver a remake that feels fresh while remaining faithful to the original."

While this announcement didn't go into specific about what's being changed, it appears that the game could get a massive overhaul compared to what we saw in September 2020. Hopefully, it still manages to have a 2021 release, but it might get pushed further depending on how much is getting changed.

Is there a Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake trailer?

So far, only one trailer for the game is released. It's the game's announcement trailer from September's Ubisoft Forward presentation and gives us an early look at the remade cutscene and gameplay. Check it out to see the redone visuals, cinematics, and combat below.

What platforms is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake for?

Even though the game will come out well into the next generation of consoles, the remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time only comes out for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. On PC, the game will be exclusive to the Epic Games Store as well as Uplay. It will also be a part of Uplay+, Ubisoft's subscription service, at launch.

The lack of next-generation console, Stadia, Amazon Luna, or Switch support is a bit baffling as Ubisoft has actively supported all of those platforms. The game is still playable on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X via backward compatibility and should have better loading when played on those platforms.

What is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time?

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is one of the most popular games from the Prince of Persia series, which began all the way back in 1989. The first game in the series by Jordan Mechner has kicked off the cinematic platformer genre that games like Oddworld and Limbo are part of. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was the first game in the series fully developed by Ubisoft, and it was released for the PC, PS2, Xbox, and GameCube in 2003.

The game follows the titular Prince as he attempts to recollect the Sands of Time and put them back in a magical hourglass after he is tricked into releasing them. The game is an action-adventure title that mixes combat and platforming, with its main gimmick being that the player can rewind time if they make a mistake. It was critically acclaimed upon its launch and is considered the height of the series, which stopped receiving new entries after 2010.

What does Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake add or change?

The game will stay mostly the same, and Yuri Lowenthal (who some might recognize as Peter Parker in the PlayStation 4 exclusive Marvel's Spider-Man) will once again voice the Prince. That said, Director Pierre-Sylvain Gires confirmed that the game was rebuilt from the ground up in an interview on Ubisoft's blog. Ubisoft also teased some of the improvements and changes that this remake of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time adds.

"Fight new enemy character models and enjoy entirely new cinematic sequences along with enhanced voices, sounds, parkour animations, and soundtrack," the trailer description reveals. "Camera, controls, and combat have been completely rebuilt and updated for today’s standards. Choose between original or modernized mapping." The original Prince of Persia game will also be playable right from the remake's main menu.

Overall, the game's reveal and visual overhaul were met with mixed responses from fans, who weren't happy with the new art direction and the lack of proper lights and shadows in the reveal trailer. Hopefully, the visuals get a bit more polished now that the game is delayed by a couple of months.

Did the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake leak?

While the announcement of this remake was very exciting, its reveal was spoiled early.

A listing appeared on a retail site back in August, prompting Bloomberg reporter Jason Schrier to confirm its existence on Twitter. Another retail leak happened in September when Amazon UK listed a Prince of Persia remake for PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

While this leak didn't turn out to be fully true, Ubisoft ended up leaking the game themselves. As reported by Eurogamer, the Russian Uplay site temporarily updated with images and videos confirming the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake. Less than a day after that leak, the game was confirmed at Ubisoft Foward and we now know what exactly to expect from it.

What are Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake's price and pre-order bonuses?

When the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake launches in January 2021, it will only be $39.99. Those that decide to pre-order the game will actually get some pre-order bonuses in the form of the "Back to the Origins" DLC set.

This includes an outfit for the Prince and a weapon set based on what the character used in the original game. It will also give players a classic filter that "changes the look and feel of the game on the screen, just as if players were playing the game back in time," according to the press release. While we have yet to see this filter in action, it still seems like an intriguing bonus.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake is currently in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.