- Ubisoft has announced Prince of Persia, a new version of the popular video game first released in 1989.
- And for the first time in 30 years, the crown prince of Persia will speak Persian.
- Some fans of the game said the changes made them “finally feel seen.”
“Prince of Persia” is the first major production in nearly 14 years, and the first title since its release in 1989 where the characters actually speak Persian.
Ubisoft released Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown on Thursday for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
According to the BBC, this latest version is the first in the series to be developed by Ubisoft Montpellier, a subsidiary of Ubisoft.
Munir Radi, the game's designer, told the outlet that the developers wanted to “depict and honor Persia and Iran” in the gameplay.
“It was natural for us to say, 'If we're going to go into this culture, we've got to be true to this culture, we've got to do this,'” Ruddy told the BBC.
The game's developers told the BBC that they have implemented several updates to make the game more appealing to modern gamers, including improved graphics inspired by the hit animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. He said that it has been done.
Among the updates to the new version are increased efforts to add language, history and other elements that make the game more faithful to the region it depicts, producer Abdelhak Elges told the BBC.
As an example, Elges said the developers weaved elements of Zoroastrianism, a religion founded in modern-day Iran, into the game, according to a BBC report.
“We have a lot of people from the Persian culture and we are very happy,” Elges said.
One user on Reddit said that while he was happy that Ubisoft added a Persian dubbing option, he was surprised that the company didn't add a Greek option to Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, especially in ancient Greece. It caused controversy for depicting people as racially diverse.
“Imagine there's a video game set in America, and they decide not to add English language support, so this is essential,” the post reads. “It's the same thing. Ubisoft has been doing this for decades.”
Another Reddit user said in the same post that the option to use Farsi dialogue in the game made him “finally feel seen” by other users in the gaming community.
