Evil Empire has officially delayed The Rogue Prince of Persia to later in May 2024, due to the surprise release of Hades 2. In a candid Twitter / X post, Evil Empire stated that while it’s very confident in the release of The Rogue Prince, the simple fact is that Hades 2 is such a giant that the PoP spin-off will need to shift out of its way.
As Evil Empire said, “everyone and their mum is playing that game,” and given Hades 2 occupies the same genre as The Rogue Prince of Persia, there will likely be significant audience crossover. Should players have one choice – whether based on preference, or cost of living needs – Hades 2 has significant pull that reasonably can’t be ignored.
“While we have every confidence in The Rogue Prince of Persia, it’s not every day that a game in the same genre as you, which is one of the most anticipated upcoming games of 2024, will release into early access a week before you plan to do the same,” Evil Empire said.
“We are not prideful enough to ignore the implications of that, and we truly believe this short delay is the best decisions for us and our early access journey.”
Read: The Rogue Prince of Persia – First Impressions
Per Evil Empire, the delay will fortuitously allow the team to keep polishing the game, kick some stubborn bugs, and “add even more cool things” for a later May 2024 launch. At this stage, Evil Empire has not provided a firm new release for the game, as it aims for a calendar spot with fewer competition.
Given the popularity of Hades 2, Evil Empire may not entirely avoid the game, but a few weeks delay is likely to benefit those keen for both titles.
“We completely understand that this is annoying new to hear for everyone who was eager to play the game, especially so close to the anticipated release,” the studio said. “We can only hold our hands up, apologise and hope that you understand. It will be worth the wait!”
For those who are annoyed by the decision, it’s worth noting that Hades 2‘s early access launch was very sudden. While the game was announced to launch in early access in the first half of 2024, it did not have a firm launch date prior to Supergiant’s sudden announcement in early May. For developers like Evil Empire, there was a resulting scramble to get out of the game’s way.
Evil Empire has promised an updated release date for The Rogue Prince of Persia this week, so stay tuned to hear when the game will officially launch.
