The Prince of Persia franchise has been quiet since the 2010 release of The Forgotten Sands, but a new entry may be in the works. French site Portail du Jeu Video is reporting that a 2D Prince of Persia game is currently under development.
The news was picked up by Video Gamer, which explains that the title supposedly utilizes Ubisoft Montpellier's UbiArt engine. This is the same engine that powered Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends, both praised for their appearance, as well as the upcoming Child of Light, which also looks great. Other UbiArt games are, not surprisingly, currently under development as well.
The engine will supposedly enable separate parts of the characters' bodies to be rendered individually. The translation describing what UbiArt will do for this Prince of Persia title is likely not 100 percent accurate as it's done with Google Translate, but you should be able to grasp the idea (apologies for not speaking French):
"[The engine] provides a real diversity/credibility in the postures and movements of the hero..." the site says. "The quality of the work is to believe [it is] 3D modelling [with] transitions [that are] are fluid and feel well made."
Basically, the game and its animation are going to look very good in motion thanks to UbiArt, according to this report. The modern Prince of Persia games have made their name in 3D (since 1999's aptly titled Prince of Persia 3D), but the series did begin in 2D all the way back in 1989. This is just a rumor at this stage, though a believable one, so keep this in mind as we wait to hear if any official word arrives in the future.
