The Prince of Persia is a video game series created by Jordan Mechner. The games are action-adventure stories about different versions of the Prince, set in ancient and medieval Persia.
The first two games, Prince of Persia (1989) and Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame (1993), were published by Broderbund. Prince of Persia 3D (1999), the first game in the series to use 3D computer graphics, was developed by Red Orb Entertainment and published by The Learning Company for PC. The Dreamcast version was made by Avalanche Software and published by Mattel Interactive. In 2001, Ubisoft acquired the rights to the series and restarted it with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003). Ubisoft later released five more games: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (2004), Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (2005), Prince of Persia (2008), Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (2010), and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (2024). Additional versions, including spin-offs and mobile games by Gameloft, were also created. A remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was planned for 2020 but was canceled in early 2026.
Beyond the games, the franchise includes a movie, a graphic novel, and a Lego toy line. Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series is considered the spiritual successor to Prince of Persia, meaning it follows a similar style and theme.
Games
The first game in the series, Prince of Persia, was created by Jordan Mechner after the success of Karateka. Inspired by stories like One Thousand and One Nights and movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Adventures of Robin Hood, Mechner used a technique called rotoscoping to animate the main character. He used his brother as the model for the prince. The original Prince of Persia was released on more than 20 platforms, making it one of the most widely available games in video game history.
After studying film at New York University, Mechner made an award-winning short film. He later returned to design a sequel, Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame, which was developed by Broderbund with his guidance. The sequel was well-received by critics and sold well. Broderbund was later bought by The Learning Company, which was then acquired by Mattel Interactive. In 1999, Prince of Persia 3D was released under Broderbund’s Red Orb label. It was available only for PC and the Dreamcast, but it had many technical problems and did not sell well. Broderbund’s game division, which included the Prince of Persia franchise, was later sold to Ubisoft.
Mechner, who owned the rights to Prince of Persia, worked with Ubisoft to create a new version of the game called The Sands of Time. He was hesitant at first because of the poor reception of Prince of Persia 3D. The team working on the game also helped develop Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell. Their goal was to improve the action-adventure genre.
Mechner did not help create the next game, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. He disliked the darker tone and increased violence in the game. Critics had mixed opinions about the changes, but sales were strong. A third game, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, was made to balance the lighter style of The Sands of Time with the more serious style of Warrior Within.
A fourth game in the Sands of Time series, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, was released in May 2010. The versions for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 filled in story gaps between The Sands of Time and Warrior Within. The versions for the PSP, Wii, and DS had different storylines. The game was released alongside a movie adaptation of The Sands of Time.
The Prince of Persia Trilogy includes The Sands of Time, Warrior Within, and The Two Thrones. It was first released on PlayStation 2 and later remastered for PlayStation 3 with high-definition graphics, 3D support, and trophies. The PlayStation 2 version came out in Europe in 2006, and the remastered version was released in 2010. In North America, the trilogy was sold as downloadable games on the PlayStation Store in 2010. A Blu-ray version was delayed until 2011.
In 2006, plans for a new game called Prince of Persia were announced. It was a second reboot of the franchise, returning to the style of the original 1989 game. Released in 2008, it received positive reviews and decent sales. A sequel for the Nintendo DS, Prince of Persia: The Fallen King, was also made.
The first spin-off game, Battles of Prince of Persia, was a turn-based strategy game released in the same year as The Two Thrones. It was made for the Nintendo DS and received average reviews.
In 2007, Gameloft and Ubisoft released Prince of Persia Classic, an updated version of the original game for mobile devices and consoles. It included new moves for the prince, such as rolling and wall-jumping, but kept the original gameplay. Gameloft also made other mobile games based on Prince of Persia titles.
In 2018, Ubisoft released Prince of Persia: Escape, a mobile game for Android and iOS. It was a runner game where players could customize the prince’s outfit. Reviews were mixed. A sequel, Prince of Persia: Escape 2, was released in 2022.
In January 2024, Ubisoft released Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, the first major game in the series since The Forgotten Sands. It is a 2.5D platformer with a new story and a new character, Sargon, who is part of the Immortals.
In 2025, The Rogue Prince of Persia was released. It is a 2.5D roguelike game developed by Evil Empire. It was inspired by Franco-Belgian comics and was Ubisoft’s first day-one Steam release in five years. The game will also come to the Nintendo Switch later in 2025.
Canceled and unreleased games
In 2012, images from a project called Osiris were thought to be the next Prince of Persia game. Jordan Mechner, the creator of the Prince of Persia series, said on his Twitter account that the images were not from a Prince of Persia game. A year later, Yannis Mallat, the CEO of Ubisoft Montreal, said the franchise was being "paused." He added that the company would share updates when they had something to show. In the months that followed, Ubisoft confirmed it was planning or considering new versions of several games, including Prince of Persia. A video made by a Ubisoft Montreal artist in 2012 was found in 2020. The video showed a gameplay trailer for a game called Prince of Persia Redemption, which was planned for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Jonathan Cooper, a former Ubisoft animator, said the trailer was a sample of the planned gameplay created by Khai Nguyen to help present the game idea. The game was never developed beyond the trailer, but the work on the trailer was later used to create a similar trailer for Assassin's Creed III.
A remake of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time was officially announced at Ubisoft Forward 2020. It was originally planned to release on January 21, 2021, for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. However, Ubisoft delayed the remake indefinitely. In a report about its business, Ubisoft said the remake was expected to release sometime during its 2022–23 financial year. The development of the remake was moved to Ubisoft Montréal, a change from Ubisoft Mumbai and Ubisoft Pune. The company later said the 2023 financial year release goal was no longer being pursued. A new release date of 2026 was announced at Ubisoft Forward 2024. Ubisoft officially canceled the remake on January 21, 2026, with news about a major company restructuring.
Adaptations
Jordan Mechner completed writing the story for a graphic novel in 2007. The novel was written by A.B. Sina and illustrated by Alex Puvilland and LeUyen Pham. First Second Books released it in autumn 2008. The story follows two princes who travel between the 9th and 13th centuries. Although it is part of a larger series, the plot is not connected to the game series or the 2010 movie.
In 2010, Walt Disney Pictures released a film adaptation of The Sands of Time. Jake Gyllenhaal played Prince Dastan in the movie, which received mixed reviews but earned $336 million in theaters. The film included elements from Warrior Within and The Two Thrones, the other two games in the Prince of Persia trilogy.
When the film was released, Disney Publishing Worldwide also published Before the Sandstorm, a 2010 comic book. This comic is both a prequel and a sequel to the movie, explaining the backgrounds and motives of some characters. Jordan Mechner wrote the comic, and Todd McFarlane, Niko Henrichon, David Lopez, and Bernard Chang illustrated it.
In 2010, The Lego Group released Lego Prince of Persia as part of its plan to create sets based on Disney movies. Based on the film, Lego produced six sets and a short animated film before ending the theme.
Reception
The success of the Prince of Persia series led to Guinness World Records giving the series six world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. These records include "First Motion-Capture Animation in a Video Game" and "Highest Rated Platformer on PS2 and Xbox."
South Korean singer-songwriter Kim Kwang-Jin released the song "Magic Castle," with lyrics based on the storyline of the original Prince of Persia.
In 1992, Russian author Victor Pelevin wrote a book titled A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia and Other Stories, which includes a short story called "Prince of Gosplan." This story is heavily influenced by the game. The main character lives in a mix of the real world and video games and identifies as Prince of Persia. He tries to determine whether his life is real or if he is only seeing it on a computer screen.
The gameplay in Tomb Raider was designed to feel similar to the original Prince of Persia.
The Assassin's Creed series began from ideas for a sequel to Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. After the game's success, Ubisoft asked Ubisoft Montreal to create a sequel for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The team chose to use the gameplay from The Sands of Time but adapted it into an open world format, using improved technology to create larger spaces and crowds. For the story, they wanted to change the Prince's character from someone who was next in line for a throne to someone who had to earn his position. Research into secret societies inspired them to focus on the Assassins, drawing heavily from the novel Alamut. They created a story where the player controls an Assassin who serves as a bodyguard for a non-playable Prince, leading them to name the game Prince of Persia: Assassin. The "Animus" device helped explain gameplay features, such as showing failures in missions, in a way similar to The Sands of Time.