It’s no secret that Prince of Persia creator, Jordan Mechner, wants to revive the dormant series. As recent as January 2018, he spoke publicly about doing his “best to make it happen.” Whether or not his attempts are still active remains to be seen, but he has once again voiced interest in returning to the series. While fans may have to wait an indefinite amount of time to hop into their favorite world again, Mechner has another Prince of Persia project in the works–a book about the first game’s creation.
Speaking at a Gamelab Barcelona talk, Mechner announced plans to release The Making of Prince of Persia, a book about the beloved franchise’s first outing in 1989. Stripe Press will publish the work, which is based on journals Mechner kept throughout the original title’s development. The National Museum of Play in New York is assisting him with the project, as it has a collection of documents contemporary to Mechner’s work on the original game. According to Mechner, he and Stripe Press aim to have the project out by spring 2020.
Of course, with this news came audience questions concerning the series itself. One audience member in particular noted that a lot of classic games are making a comeback after long being dormant. Mechner voiced his hope in seeing Prince of Persia receive similar treatment, saying, “I would love to replay those old [Prince of Persia] games.” When asked if he would ever want to take part in developing a new entry, the creator simply responded with “yes.”
Unfortunately for fans, publisher Ubisoft has remained pretty quiet about Prince of Persia. The last word on the franchise’s potential return is from a Game Informer interview in late 2018 with Ubisoft’s CCO Serge Hascoet. During said interview, Hascoet explained that revivals for Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell are a question of “means.” He elaborated, saying, “I love Prince of Persia. I can’t disclose any information at this time, but I can say we are fighting for resources. It’s not a question of will, it’s a question of means.”
[Source: VG247]
