Early Access as a Development Tool

The rise of Early Access has transformed the game development process, enabling communities to influence projects well before their launch. While some experiments have failed, others have thrived with player input. Ubisoft and Evil Empire’s The Rogue Prince of Persia belongs firmly in the latter category.

“Early access was great because we could get a lot of feedback from our community, and it was really nice to evolve the game with them. And they can kind of see their impact on the game, and if you think about it, it is quite unusual, especially for a Ubisoft-published game,” said Matthew Houghton, marketing manager at Evil Empire, during our interview at Gamescom 2025.

For Ubisoft, known for blockbuster productions, publishing a smaller roguelite was already a risk. Yet the partnership with Evil Empire, best known for its work on Dead Cells, ensured expertise and authenticity were at the project’s core.

Building The Rogue Prince of Persia Run by Run

As Houghton explained, Evil Empire wanted to create something in their comfort zone while experimenting with new narrative ideas for The Rogue Prince of Persia. “It’s our first full game at the studio. When we proposed the game to Ubisoft, it was very much like this is our area of expertise. We also wanted to tell a narrative like this, a branching story, which we thought would be cool on a roguelite.”

The result is a 2D roguelite set on a three-dimensional plane, where combat is fast, acrobatic, and reminiscent of cinematic fight choreography. Players wall-run across surfaces, weave through enemies, and combine weapons with agile movement and powerful Medallions for a kinetic flow.

“Sometimes we say it’s like playing a Jackie Chan movie, but as the Prince of Persia,” Dylan Eurlings, art director, noted. “You’re using all your moves, using the environment, to defeat the whole group of enemies, like you keep moving around, and get into a flow state.”

Art Style and Iteration

One of The Rogue Prince of Persia‘s most striking features is its bold visual direction. Eurlings explained: “From the start, we wanted to have something that looks unique and very different. One of the major constraints was to create something very readable for a fast-paced action game, but perhaps we were a little too simplistic. So it was a subtle balance between something detailed enough to be interesting, but not overcrowded.”

This led to changes, including redesigning the Prince after community feedback moved him away from an unfamiliar purple colour scheme to something closer to fan expectations. It highlights how closely Evil Empire engaged with its players during development.

Live-Service DNA in a Roguelite World

Beyond art and combat, the team also reworked progression systems during Early Access. Community feedback helped refine upgrade loops, skill trees, and combat tweaks in The Rogue Prince of Persia. Yet as the developers acknowledge, no design can satisfy everyone. Instead, they treat the game almost like a live-service project, planning updates and improvements post-launch to keep players invested.

A Prince Reborn

With The Rogue Prince of Persia now officially in 1.0, fans can experience a storied franchise in an entirely new way: part roguelite, part narrative experiment, and part community-driven collaboration. Its mix of kinetic combat, stylish visuals, and iterative development has created something unique within Ubisoft’s portfolio.

It may not be the traditional sequel fans once expected, but as a reimagining of the franchise, it shows the potential of pairing AAA backing with indie sensibilities. And if it really feels like playing a Jackie Chan movie for some, then perhaps this is the most exciting step the Prince has taken in years.

The Rogue Prince of Persia is now available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.