Prince of Persia follow-up confirmed

Ubisoft president and CEO Yves Guillemot minced no words this morning when he confirmed that the sequel to the award-winning, multi-platform title Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is in development. "We intend to build on that masterpiece," said Guillemot, referring to last year's successful and critically acclaimed action adventure title.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a top-selling franchise for the company--the game sold some 2.4 million units through March 31 of this year.

The update, currently titled Prince of Persia 2, is in development at Ubisoft's Montreal studio, the same studio responsible for last year's Sands of Time. The sequel looks and sounds as though it will take on a darker tone than its predecessor: The titular prince "has to embark upon a path of both carnage and mystery to defy his preordained death." Ubisoft's announcement emphasizes that the game will feature a brand-new, free-form combat system, and that the prince will be able to wield a variety of weapons in battle--as well as control "the Ravages of Time."

For months, the game was known to have been in development--listed even as a game to be shown at a special "sneak peeks" E3 Conference Program session. Today's news, however, is the first official notice that the game is in development.