Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a 2024 action-adventure game developed and published by Ubisoft. It is part of the Prince of Persia video game franchise, and returns to the 2D side-scrolling gameplay perspective of the original 1989 video game. The player assumes control of Sargon, a young member of the warrior clan The Immortals, who must travel to the mythical Mount Qaf to rescue a kidnapped prince. Players explore the game world to find shortcuts, secret rooms, and gameplay upgrades. As the game progresses, Sargon gains the ability to manipulate time and perform highly acrobatic moves. The Lost Crown is a Metroidvania game in which locations are interconnected.
The Lost Crown is the first main entry in the franchise following Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (2010). Ubisoft Montpellier experimented with 2D Prince of Persia prototypes, and work on The Lost Crown started in 2019 after the studio had assembled a team of developers with experience in world-building and creating platforming gameplay. The game's combat system was inspired by 2D fighting games, and by Shōnen manga and superhero comics for its art direction. The developers' experience working on Rayman games also helped its production; they aimed to modernize the series by reintroducing familiar staples, and prioritized accessibility. Gareth Coker and Mentrix composed the game's music, and it is one of the first video games to be dubbed into Persian (Farsi).
The game was officially revealed in June 2023 and received a mixed reaction from players. The Lost Crown was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in January 2024, and for Android and iOS in April 2025. The game received positive reviews from critics, who praised its map and location design, combat, and accessibility features while criticizing its narrative. It was regarded as a return to form for the franchise and one of the greatest Metroidvania games. Ubisoft supported The Lost Crown with free updates and a paid expansion pack titled Mask of Darkness, which was released in September 2024. The game attracted more than three million players, though it failed to meet Ubisoft's sales expectations, leading to the development team's disbandment.
Gameplay
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a 2.5D side-scrolling action-adventure game. The player assumes control of Sargon, a young member of the warrior clan The Immortals, who must travel to the cursed city of Mount Qaf to rescue the kidnapped Prince Ghassan. Sargon is equipped with a pair of daggers with which he defeats enemies. Launching several consecutive attacks forms a combo. Sargon can also perform aerial attacks by launching enemies into the air. Attacks can be charged to deal larger damage or create a blast that affects multiple enemies. If the player successfully parries a hostile attack before they hit, they will stagger the enemy. Attacks denoted with yellow flashes can be parried with "vengeful counters", a special type of counterattack that triggers a short cutscene showing Sargon dealing devastating damage and immediately incapacitating weaker enemies. Failing this parry will deplete a significant part of Sargon's health. Some attacks are unblockable; players can only dodge to avoid being hit. As the game progresses, players unlock bows and arrows and a chakram, allowing Sargon to hit enemies from afar. As players progress, they accumulate points for unleashing powerful attacks named "Athra Surges", which are divided into three ranks based on their power and the points they consume.
Sargon is an agile character whose basic movement options include jumping and sliding. The Lost Crown is also a platform game in which players travel between platforms while avoiding deadly contraptions and environment hazards. As they progress through the game, players unlock time powers that allow Sargon to manipulate time and perform feats such as air dashing, double jumping, and grappling onto faraway objects. These powers include special abilities like the Shadow of the Simurgh, which lets players place a temporary checkpoint to which they can instantaneously return; the Dimensional Claw, which is used to capture and toss objects or enemies; and Clairvoyance, which toggles platforms between solid and incorporeal states. These time powers, alongside Sargon's weapons, are used to solve puzzles and remove obstacles. The game introduces several accessibility features, allowing players to independently toggle the difficulty of the game's exploration, platforming and combat. For instance, players can toggle a platform-assist option that allows them to skip some difficult platforming sections.
The Lost Crown features Metroidvania elements; locations are interconnected, and filled with shortcuts and secret rooms. If players explore alternative paths, they may find side quests, optional boss encounters, treasure chests, and health upgrades. They may also collect amulets that provide players with passive gameplay perks. The game supports up to 12 amulet slots, though more-powerful amulets occupy multiple spaces. Some areas in the game are inaccessible until players unlock the necessary tools and gadgets. As players explore the game world, they can find Time crystals that can be used to purchase upgrades for Sargon's weapons and abilities, as well as maps showing the layout of each biome and locations of interest. Players also find statues that serve as fast travel points, and trails of golden leaves that guide players to "Wak-Wak trees" that serve as respawn points for Sargon if the player character died in combat or during exploration. Wak-Wak trees also restores Sargon's health and refill his potions, and allow players to change their amulets and Athra Surges. Players can take screenshots and pin them to the game's map, allowing them to recognize and remember unsolved puzzles they have encountered. The game can be played in both Guided and Exploration modes; Guided mode marks the locations of quest objectives on the players' map, whereas Exploration mode removes them, forcing players to look for hints from the characters and the world.
Plot After experiencing over 30 years of drought and famine, and an invasion from the Kushan Empire, the Persian Empire is on the brink of collapse. The latest Kushan invasion into Persian territory is repelled thanks to the efforts of the Immortals clan. Sargon, the clan's youngest member, personally defeats and kills the Kushan general Uvishka. Queen Thomyris and Prince Ghassan commend Sargon and the Immortals for their efforts but Sargon's mentor General Anahita abducts the prince during the victory celebrations. Sargon and the Immortals pursue Anahita to the sacred Mount Qaf, home to a citadel that was a great center of learning until it was destroyed by an unknown curse. The Immortals begin to suspect Anahita plans to use Ghassan's royal blood to access the temple of the Simurgh and gain the divine bird's blessing, which would allow her to overthrow Thomyris.
The Immortals enter the citadel but find themselves trapped inside due to a time anomaly. They split up to search for Anahita, and Sargon quickly encounters undead soldiers and monsters, and other trapped humans who help him. Sargon also begins to find and recover the Simurgh's feathers, each of which grants him magical abilities and a portion of the god's power. Sargon catches up to Anahita and saves Ghassan. The Immortals' leader, Vahram, intervenes and kill the prince, revealing himself as the true culprit who intends to usurp Thomyris. Sargon buys time for Anahita to escape, but Vahram's mastery of time magic defeats Sargon and he is thrown from a cliff. Sargon survives the fall and discovers a mysterious old man named Alkara, who informs him there is a chance to reverse time and save Ghassan, but he must make a bargain with the evil snake god Azhdaha. Azhdaha instructs Sargon to gain the blessing of the four Celestial Guardians. Sargon also encounters Anahita, who claims she kidnapped Ghassan on Thomyris' orders. Meanwhile, Vahram lies to the rest of the Immortals, claiming Sargon killed Ghassan, and persuades most of them to support his claim to the throne. Sargon is forced to kill several of his former Immortals comrades.
After securing the favor of the Celestial Guardians, Sargon is sent back in time. He thwarts Vahram's attempt to murder Ghassan, but Anahita dies while protecting Sargon. Vahram then admits he has also been collecting the Simurgh's feathers; he believes only he is worthy of possessing them, and he battles Sargon. As their powers clash, Sargon glimpses Vahram's past and learns Vahram is actually the long-lost son of King Darius, who Thomyris assassinated, and that Thomyris' usurpation of the throne without the Simurgh's blessing caused Persia's 30 years of decline. Ghassan informs Sargon Vahram is likely seeking the Heart of the Simurgh so he can merge with it and take the Simurgh's full power.
Sargon pursues Vahram but is unable to stop him from merging with the Heart and ascending to godhood. The spirit of the Simurgh contacts Sargon and assures him he still has the power to defeat and save Vahram from himself. Sargon again confronts Vahram and, after a protracted battle, is able to defeat him. Vahram realizes the folly of trying to claim a god's power, and sacrifices himself to summon the Simurgh back. With the Simurgh returned, Sargon and Ghassan return to Persepolis as heroes. Knowing the truth about his mother, Ghassan abdicates his position and Sargon tells the entire royal court Thomyris murdered Darius. As Sargon leaves the capital, the remaining Immortals assure him they will take care of a younger version of Vahram who the Mount's time anomaly created and escaped with them.
Throughout the game, players find scattered lore notes containing a prophecy that implies Sargon is actually a legitimate heir to Thomyris, and that Ghassan was used as a decoy prince. Thomyris staged Ghassan's kidnapping to orchestrate the events on Mount Qaf, plotting to have Sargon succeed her throne.
Development Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was developed by Ubisoft Montpellier with support by Ubisoft studios in Bucharest, Kyiv, and Pune. The development team did not set out to make a side-scrolling game, though they had prototyped 2D Prince of Persia games. Development of the game started in 2019 after the studio had assembled a team of developers with expertise in world building and creating platforming gameplay. The Lost Crown was positioned as a standalone chapter in the Prince of Persia series; It has no narrative connection to the previous games and is not a spin-off of the series. To give the franchise an identity distinct from that of Assassin's Creed, the team analyzed past games in the franchise and researched how to best reintroduce it to modern audiences. The game's director, Mounir Radi, said the franchise's four core pillars are acrobatic fights, puzzles, platforming gameplay, and narrative. The developer wanted to retain the franchise's setting and its emphasis on time-manipulation powers, while adding a twist to make them more novel. As a result, the Prince returns in The Lost Crown but is no longer a playable character. The time-rewind power that was introduced in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003) is wielded by the game's antagonist rather than the playable character. To follow the franchise's tradition of having an unnamed protagonist, Sargon initially did not have a name. The character's name was added near the end of the game's development to allow players to develop a strong emotional attachment to him. The developers described Sargon as a young, agile warrior. With Sargon, the team hoped to modernize the franchise's image by introducing "fresh visual design" that references "modern culture, urban culture, and fashion".