Near the end of 2003, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’s creative director Patrice Désilets was set to work on the next Prince of Persia by Ubisoft Montreal. However, Désilets felt unsure of proceeding with another Prince of Persia game.
Désilets began to formulate a concept based on the society of the “Al Hashashin”, later known as assassins, founded by the Muslim missionary, Hassan-i-Sabbah. Al Hashashin feared reputation for killing political and religious figures on their master’s order, allowed Désilets to rework concept not around the Prince of Persia, but those who protected him: Assassins.
The game was later titled Prince of Persia: Assassins. The gameplay developed for the game centered around protecting a young prince in Jerusalem who had to be rescued by the player and escorted to safety. “You were an assassin, so a killer and a fighter, and you had to save the princess. Only the princess was really a boy – a prince with special powers.” said Patrice Désilets.
However, the idea was rejected the idea when presented to Ubisoft, as it did not focus on the Prince of Persia but his bodyguards. Therefore, the team responsible for developing the The Sands of Time moved to complete what would become Assassin’s Creed.
In May 2012, Ubisoft’s official Facebook page revealed concept arts by Khai Nguyen, which is available to preview in the photo album of the aforementioned artists’ name on The Codex, the concept arts showcase what would’ve been the setting of Prince of Persia: Assassins.
