Evil Empire just announced that it was delaying the release of its highly anticipated The Rogue Prince of Persia roguelike due to the hype that Hades 2 has generated with its quiet release.
The latest entry in the Prince of Persia franchise is a spin-off that is said to still be released in May 2024 but a specific date will be announced later on. Evil Empire, the creator of roguelite platformer Dead Cells, decided on the matter after observing Hades 2's popularity.
The Rogue Prince of Persia's Early Access Delayed
(Photo : Evil Empire / Screenshot taken from Steam)
It was only about a month ago when The Rogue Prince of Persia surfaced officially after rumors that the developer was working on a standalone 2D entry in the franchise. It also comes as Evil Empire finally brought an end to Dead Cells' development after many post-launch updates.
Another thing that is worth noting with the latest development is that The Rogue Prince of Persia is a separate game from Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
The latter is a different, but official, spin-off of the franchise that also takes the form of a classic 2D platformer nodding to the series' roots, according to Rock Paper Shotgun.
Evil Empire wrote in a post, "Seeing as everyone and their mum is playing that game (including our entire team... and their mums), we have decided to let people have their fun with it before we release The Rogue Prince of Persia."
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The developer also said that while it had confidence in its upcoming game, it wasn't every day that a game similar to theirs, which is also highly anticipated, came out a week before they planned to do the same.
It's not actually difficult to understand where Evil Empire is coming from, particularly given how Hades 2's incredible popularity has taken Steam by storm. There are also many other titles that have recently been released that give new titles a run for their money, such as Crow County, 1000xResist, and Animal Well.
Hades 2's Quiet Release
Evil Empire also noted that it would continue to polish The Rogue Prince of Persia amid the delay in the release of its early access version. The company said that it plans to add "more cool things" as well as fix various bugs, said IGN.
However, the developer acknowledged that the delay is frustrating, particularly for fans of the Prince of Persia franchise and those who were eager to play the newest title. Evil Empire said that the game will hopefully be worth the wait for many players once they get their hands on it.
The Rogue Prince of Persia was originally scheduled to be released on Steam in early access on May 14, 2024. Despite the hype that Hades 2 has generated, it did not take away all of the players' attention from other indie titles, including Little Kitty, Big City.
Also, Evil Empire wrote that it is still planning to release The Rogue Prince of Persia's early access version on Steam this month. The developer is set to announce the new release date sometime next week, according to The Verge.
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