The Prince of Persia Sequel That Changed Shape
Assassin’s Creed began as a proposal for a new Prince of Persia game, often described as a sequel to The Sands of Time. The early concept shifted the focus away from the prince: the player would control an assassin whose job was to protect him. That role offered a different way to build the familiar mix of movement, danger, and historical adventure.
When the Hero No Longer Fit the Franchise
The concept’s central character created a problem for a Prince of Persia game. If players spent the adventure as the prince’s protector rather than as the prince, the project was moving beyond what the franchise’s name and premise promised. Instead of forcing the idea back into that mold, Ubisoft developed it into a separate series.
That change gave the team room to make the assassin—not a supporting character to a prince—the center of the story and the play. The result kept the broad appeal of an agile hero navigating a historic world, while building a distinct identity around stealth, pursuit, and life among crowded cities.
A New Name, A New Kind of Lead
The change was more than a title swap: it turned a proposed sequel into a new property with its own protagonist and story world. The concept that did not fit Prince of Persia became the foundation for Assassin’s Creed—an example of how a design idea can become more compelling when it is allowed to leave its original franchise behind.
