Kotaku have gotten a hold of what they suggest is an early development screenshot from an upcoming Prince of Persia title from Ubisoft. Posted on the publisher's official forums, the image features a text overlay POP_ZERO_2 suggesting the Prince of Persia connection, but doesn't seem to have much more in common with previous games in the franchise. Kotaku recalls that Prince of Persia Zero was previously used as a codename for an aborted Ubisoft project that was thought to be taking a modern-day spin on the Persian hero.

The screenshot is obviously very rough around the edges, with poor lighting, and zombie-esque characters floating slightly above the ground, so assuming it's not just another Internet hoax, it's clearly from an early stage in a game's development -- whether it's actually Prince of Persia related or not.

If it really is Ubi's next take on the Prince though, there could be some big changes afoot. The black player character and ancient Egyptian aesthetics, provoke speculation of themes of slave liberation in The Nile Delta.

Interestingly, Kotaku also notes that this new shot bears a striking similarity to some other trailer stills that supposedly leaked back in May, with a tagline "Judgement is coming".

Hit the thumbs below for a closer look and draw your own conclusions: