Amid rumors of Ubisoft’s financial issues, a new glimmer of hope has shone through the cracks for fans after a leak for a remake of one of the most beloved Ubisoft franchises of all time. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake‘s focus group screening was apparently uploaded to YouTube, then quickly taken down, but not before some fans managed to see its promising changes.
A Reddit post in the r/GamingLeaksandRumours subreddit brought attention to the leak, which was apparently a March 2024 focus group screening inside Ubisoft. The 10-minute video discussed gameplay overhauls, making Princess Farah a stronger companion that doesn’t need constant saving, as well as motion capture videos highlighting the acting and parkour movements. It’s not clear whether these changes are in the final version, by the way.
Sadly, the YouTube video was taken down by Ubisoft itself through a DMCA request, but the Reddit poster was able to save the video to the Cloud. Ubisoft representatives in the video have claimed that they were aiming for a “realistic, and not going full Mario” approach to platforming and parkour. Granted, the action snippets and pretty much all the gameplay in the presentation were all work-in-progress from early 2024.
In addition to the fluid combat and movement, Princess Farah also received a major upgrade, not just graphically, as the presentation stated that you no longer need to keep her safe. She can participate in combat much better and with cooperative attacks. Sadly, they missed an opportunity to make Farah a couch co-op companion, but that kind of gameplay feature is too big an ask for a remake in any case.
Fans Questioned Ubisoft’s Minimal Announcements
It should be noted that the gameplay and visuals in the video seem mostly rough since it was likely a 2024 or even 2023 version of the in-development game. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake won’t be released until January 2026, so it’s fair to expect a lot of changes. While the final version will inevitably come to light, some Prince of Persia fans have questioned why Ubisoft kept silent on these kinds of details, considering they could help with marketing and hyping up the remake.
“Hi Ubisoft reps! You guys should keep stuff like this up, it’s interesting to see project insight and people are reacting well. If the BTS bonus stuff happens then we’ll call it even,” argues the Redditor who posted the leak. Sure enough, even the reception from forums was also positive, with many people calling the parkour “good and fluid.” Some have praised the acting and dialog, “The banter between the Prince and Farah sounds good actually!”
Others, however, are more cautious, especially with how many nostalgic fans kept getting disappointed with certain remakes and belated sequels. “Doesnt look like the old one, and the buildings match the promo images that we have seen. Im cautiously optimistic,” claims a commenter. If all goes well, Ubisoft is hopefully poised to reveal more information about the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake in the upcoming 2025 Game Awards.
